Chapter 596
My Villains Episode 596
70. This side(29)
As expected earlier, the Rat Catcher's underworld was much narrower than that of Evie. However, its appearance was very unusual..
“……What is this?.”
“It looks like a hallway.”
It was just as Ellen said..
When I left the shabby inn and checked, I saw that the street, full of gray noise, seemed to be extending towards the south like an underground tunnel..
It was dark when I looked up, as if there was black smoke in the middle of the night. However, it seemed like if I climbed over the wall and jumped up as hard as I could, I would be able to reach the border. In addition, the streets were so narrow that they were only 4 to 5 meters wide, so it felt extremely stuffy..
“Well, there's nothing to do other than find the way..”
In Darren's other world, as soon as he stepped outside the building, he felt the presence of goat heads, or guardians. During the Ebi era, he headed out of the royal capital using Iopiya as his compass..
This time it was different again. I didn't feel any presence, but Iopiya's magic wasn't necessary. There's a dead wall behind you and a single road ahead, so what kind of compass do you need?.
“Well, nothing bad..”
Ibi, who regained her memory through Iopiya's magic, said that the victim's soul was the seed, heart, and nucleus of the other world. When the victim's soul disappears, the other side of the world also collapses. This was the fourth law she said.
Actually, I had guessed this from the beginning. Darren's soul was scattered by the flames poured out by Ellen, and Evie's soul returned to the present world under the guidance of the dimensional seal. And both of their secret worlds collapsed..
The other world disappeared in both cases, but the impact on the real world was completely different. Darren was reduced to ashes like his soul, and Evie woke up fine..
“Let's move along the road.”
In any case, the first task upon entering the underworld—no, in fact the only task—was to find the victim's soul..
The underworld of the ratcatchers began in a shabby inn under the outer wall and spread through the inner wall to the old city. It's a single road with no crossroads..
Originally, identification was required to pass through the castle gate, but that was in the present world. Naturally, there were no guards or gatekeepers in the underworld. Just pass by without any interruption..
I've thought about it before, but it seemed like it could definitely be used..
When escaping from the hidden world of Darren, where souls were scattered, the entrance and exit were the same. In other words, a dimensional seal was activated in the elongated house where the carriage repairman's family lived, and he later returned to that location..
On the other hand, during this rain, the entrance and exit were different. It was the rabbit hole that activated the dimensional seal, but when it returned to the present world, it was a completely different place. Because it was the stream near Seongoe Village, the place where Evie’s soul was found..
So, if the victim's soul is found in the palace, where will it come out when it returns to the real world??
“Of course it's inside the palace..”
Ellen, who was walking next to me, said with a sour face..
“That sounds really fun. Unless you're surrounded by the Royal Guard and the Royal Magic Corps and reduced to ashes..”
“……I mean, there are ways to put it to good use..”
Ellen showed a very negative attitude toward the opinion I presented..
“I don't know what this quasi-dimension was created for. But are you even thinking about using it? Isn’t that a bit too courageous??”
I shrugged my shoulders at that sarcastic remark..
“At least you know what to watch out for..”
“joy. Even so, we don't know how the servant's disease is transmitted..”
In fact, contrary to the name given to it by the public, Hain's disease was far from a common disease. Since it was the result of the dark knight Ahillemnur's trick, it would be more correct to call it a curse..
Ellen agreed with me..
“It is the most severe curse among curses. Because it is fatal and semi-permanent. Since the body was kept alive and only the soul was extracted and used, it must have been something similar to necromancy, and seeing as it deals with quasi-dimensions, it appears that transference type magic was also used.…….”
“transfer magic?”
“huh. The ‘Messenger of the Dark World’ was a master of the transference technique, capable of freely manipulating dimensional gates. But the Dark Knight is said to be of much higher rank than that.?”
As the saying goes, the messenger of the dark world was a transference magician of a great level..
‘He opened a 'terrible portal', poured out an army of undead and fishmen, and summoned the 'incarnation of the underworld'. He tried to escape by opening the 'return door of darkness', but was stopped by a group of monks, and in the end, as if in a desperate fight, he fired the 'banishment' spell and sent Ulcar flying into the dark world..
Of course, he was no ordinary messenger from the dark world. Because it was strengthened to an absurd level by absorbing the Death Knight left behind by Luke, the ‘King of Death’..
“‘He is the representative of the ‘Dark Lord’. If that were true, then of course it would be an incredibly powerful being. It would be possible to create a quasi-dimension using the soul as a medium.…….”
Ellen, who spoke in a very assertive tone, had a faint shadow on her face..
“Moreover, no matter how quasi-dimensional it is, it spans hundreds of dimensions and even detects changes in magical power? That level of dominance cannot be imitated unless three or four great wizards from history join forces. What the hell is that guy named Ahillemnur?…….”
“Oh, I don't think there's any need to be so scared..”
Seeing Ellen's excessive concern, I scratched my chin and continued..
“No matter how bad he is, he won't be able to look into all the hidden worlds he has created..”
“how do you know that?”
“Because we've been through it.”
In Darren's other world, Ellen forcibly shook off the pressure of magical power and poured out a 'flame wave'. With that spell, all of Ushtu's relatives were wiped out before they even showed up..
During Evey's time, Ellen did not use magic. However, Iopiya used the 'assimilation' spell, and my subordinates each used magic tools. Of course, fairy tale magic is a technique that consumes very little spiritual power, and 'Muddy's Bow', 'Gloves of Waves', and 'Dead Man's Crossbow' are magic tools that consume almost no magic power..
“You and my subordinates clearly used magical power. Still, Achillemnur did not appear..”
“……so?”
“Even if he was monitoring the hundreds of hidden worlds he created, it wouldn't be perfect..”
I drew on what Ellen said to explain my guess..
“You said this place is full of all kinds of unpleasant energy, right? It feels like it's full of dirty molten iron..”
“what is that?”
“Then, wouldn't even the Dark Knight notice the slight glimmer of molten iron? If it spills out and burns the floor, of course you will feel it..”
“That's literally just a metaphor. Magic power doesn't slosh like water, nor does it overflow or burn the floor..”
“Oh, of course it should be so.-”
Ellen laughed at my troubled expression..
“Still, I know what you want to say. This means that the Dark Knight's magic detection does not act like an alarm or trap spell.?”
“Oh, that's it. They may be able to catch dramatic changes, but most of the time they'll just be snooping around like they're patrolling..”
It is true that magic is very useful, but it is by no means omnipotent. It would not be possible to provide thorough surveillance like installing CCTV or radar in the entire secret world..
“And, if he was as powerful as you feared in the first place, he wouldn't have been active in secret. Whether he invaded the palace or went into hiding, he would have gone straight to Zacharis and scolded him to follow his orders..”
“Hmm.”
Ellen nodded with a plausible expression..
“Uh, then.”
Iopiya, who had been quietly following a few steps behind, suddenly put her face between the two of us..
“We can get caught right now.?”
“……What does that mean all of a sudden?”
“Poynix just mentioned patrolling..”
“however?”
“The fact that the Dark Knight is snooping around in the underworld like he's patrolling means that we too can come across it at any time..”
“uh…….”
“Of course, you have to be extremely unlucky..”
I was speechless for a moment..
“…… Well, I was just making an analogy. The Dark Knight is not a pure warrior, and he probably doesn't patrol in the morning and evening..”
“Um, I guess so.?”
Thanks to Iopiya taking a step back, I was able to make eye contact with Ellen again..
“…….”
“…….”
We exchanged glances for a moment and started walking a little faster..
As I was crossing a hill to the east of the old town, I encountered the guardians of the other side of the world. As expected, they were Ushtu's descendants and numbered a little over twenty..
I think it's unlikely that the Dark Knight will immediately attack me just by throwing a fireball, but there was still no need to take the risk. It's not like I really need help. So I left Ellen and Iofia behind and went out alone..
It took less than a minute to kill all the goat-headed monsters. The blade of 'Saint's Destruction' was long, heavy, and sharp, and it was not difficult at all to swing it and cut into pieces those who were recklessly charging at it..
“There it is.”
Leaving behind the guardians who disappeared in a puff of black smoke, Ellen pointed to a whitish figure. A mansion stood tall next to a gently sloping hill, and in front of it sat the soul of an elderly man with an ordinary look..
“EOP, try talking to me.”
“Didn't you plan on going back to the present world right away??”
“You should try an experiment. Guide me back towards the old town.”
I was planning to see if I could use the underworld for infiltration. The idea is to move the ratcatcher's soul to another location and then activate the dimensional seal to see if the exit can also be moved..
Iopiya approached him and spoke quietly. But he just grunted for a few minutes, as if something was wrong..
“what's the matter?”
“Uh, you're not answering. As if you were sleeping... … . It’s different from Lee B’s time..”
Despite Iopiya's continued attempts, the ratcatcher's spirit did not respond..
“……Why is this like this again?.”
“Could it be because it hasn't been long since I contracted servant's disease??”
“Why do you think so??”
“Well, that's the only thing I can think of that's different from Lee B's time..”
“Umm.”
Among the many rules I heard from Evie, there was nothing like this..
After a brief thought, I shook my head. It didn't seem like a question that could be resolved right away anyway..
I reached out to the Ratman's soul and activated the dimensional seal..
Wow!
As before, a disc filled with light of various colors appeared and engulfed the group. This is how the third exploration of the underworld came to an end..
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