31The second word upsets the game board (Episode 103)
Snowfall and Mirei were able to elude the shadow hunters while the black fog bought them time..
“Ugh….”
“Mirei, are you okay??”
“are you okay. just… Just get some rest and you'll be fine.”
Mirei took out a cigarette from her pocket and put it to her mouth. Soon her cigarette caught fire and smoke came out of her mouth..
“haha… Ugly.”
“Is that a painkiller??”
“how did you know?”
Pandea also had painkillers in the form of cigarettes. Burning herbs and absorbing their energy into the body.
‘I always carry painkillers with me.?’
When Kang Seol looked at Mirei with suspicion, she shrugged her shoulders..
“I'm not feeling well.”
“…Is that why you don't have much time??”
- hmm… What should I do? I’m a person who doesn’t have much time. Can't I find another friend??
This is what she said to Kang Seol when she first met Mirei..
“remember that?”
“answer. Now don't hide anything from me.”
“…okay. that's right. I don't have long to live.”
“how much is left?”
“You don't know that. If it's long, you could live for more than a year, and if it's short, you could die tomorrow. Well, isn’t that what life is all about??”
Mirei laughed and spit out smoke..
“It's a bit better now. Shall we take a walk? The hideout isn't far from here. It's enough to talk while walking. know? I'm a busy person.”
She said that and walked away..
“Won't your hiding place be discovered by these guys??”
“Well, even if I find it, it will take some time. They mainly use the scent and feel of the shadow summoner as a means of tracking them, and they have a special treatment in their hideout..”
“okay. And one more thing, it is impossible to summon in front of the shadow hunter.….”
“Is this your first time meeting a shadow hunter? They are trained to hunt only shadow summoners. It's not strange to have such miraculous abilities. Well, it might not work on someone of Gregory's size, but at least it's fatal for us..”
As she said, it was an unprecedentedly terrifying experience to see the summon that I trusted not even move in the shadow space..
‘however… How do you drive out Malachus if you can't summon his summons??’
Even though I gained enlightenment through this adventure, what next? Is it possible to defeat or outrun Malachus??
Snowfall has become serious in a beleaguered situation..
“Don't worry too much. If this experiment is successful….”
“Mirei, I can't trust you anymore..”
“…….”
“Too many things were hidden. The name, the pursuers, and even the fact that you are a shadow..”
“sorry.”
“I haven't changed my mind, but I think I need to know the full story now..”
Mirei scratched his head..
“What do you want to know??”
Kang Seol answered.
“entire.”
Mirei's hideout began to appear before their eyes..
“What disease you are suffering from, why the Shadow Hunter is chasing you, and why you became distant from Gregory. and….”
Snowfall's golden eyes crossed a line with Mirei's eyes..
“why did you become a shadow.”
Mirei's lips began to tingle..
* * *
Gregory is an eccentric and unloving person..
“You stupid bastard! Stop giving up!”
“no! I don't like it! Gregory you stupid bastard.!”
Gregory is an idiot.
“Where is this from the teacher?!”
“I don't need any of these lessons!”
“under!”
Mirei hated Gregory..
I couldn't understand why people revered him as a legend..
But whatever Gregory was in her mind, he was a legendary shadow summoner..
At a young age, he persistently delved into the unique science of shadow summoning..
Shadow summoning, a discipline that was simply dismissed as the delusion of summoners of previous eras..
Gregory collected the scattered fragments one by one. And combined with his own theories, he compiled it into a single study..
That was the background to the birth of the unprecedented profession called Shadow Summoner..
Gregory had many disciples, and among them there was one he loved the most..
The student's name was Mirei..
His third disciple, an orphan from a small tribe who had not yet been weaned, was evaluated by others as an eccentric act..
But Gregory thought differently..
‘This kid… He's a genius.’
Mirei was a genius.
Her shining intelligence absorbs knowledge as if she will soon discover the essence of the Shadow Summoning Art..
Gregory admired her.
‘Someday you will be greater than me, Mirei.’
However, Gregory overlooked her nature..
I later learned that the name Mirei meant ‘gentle flower.’ She was as kind as her name suggests.
Loved all life and was for them.
The problem was that her personality got in the way of raising the level of shadow summoning..
“Mirei, shadows are tools. No, even the expression “tool” is dangerous. They are wild beasts. They must be gagged and taught thorough obedience..”
“No, shadows can be friends.”
“A clumsy thought... I know the true power of the shadow. They are scary creatures. It is a dangerous act to clumsily show a gap for them. one day they will bite you.”
We always had arguments like this..
Gregory hoped that she would calmly focus on his education. And she thought that one day she would pass on everything that was hers to her..
But she refused it.
“Gregory, you are the smartest person I know. More than me, no, more than anyone else. But I'm right about this one thing. Shadows are not simple beings that obey power. We are not their masters and we need to understand them more.”
“Stupid guy... Shadows are dead beings. You, the one who has lived, must bear all those regrets. Do you think you can handle it? You'll just be swayed by the shadows!”
“I will risk my whole life to prove that I am right. And Gregory, you're a coward who won't approach simply because you're afraid of the shadows..”
“There will be a day when you will realize the meaning of my words, Mirei..”
This was the end of my relationship with Gregory..
The shadow summoning art he thinks of and the shadow summoning art Mirei thinks of are fundamentally different..
Mirei left Gregory's side like that..
After that she wandered all over the world. But as soon as her Gregory left her arms, she found that many evil-doers, who had a grudge against him, had set their sights on her..
Shadowhunters were also one of her main enemies..
“ha… ha….”
Although it was an uphill battle each time, she never neglected her research..
“Genius Mirei's 77th record... Coexistence with shadows must go beyond simple assimilation. Assimilation is nothing more than a summoner holding the reins and wielding a shadow, and it has limitations that prevent it from advancing to mutual understanding..”
A lot of time has passed.
To Gregory and Mirei.
With countless fake identities and countless fake expressions, she lived her life pretending to be someone else..
However, I kept only one sincerity..
“It's hard, Sodin.?”
Sodin was a shadow that had been with her for a long time. Mirei was always kind to Sodin, just like her name..
“…it's okay.”
“Tell me if it hurts.”
“I'm fine, but... What about Mirei??”
“me? haha… I'm in a hurry too.”
Sodin always felt sorry for her..
Her research made no progress for a long time. He was her shadow and thought it was his fault..
“Mirei, you may be right. but….”
“stop.”
“The reason there is no progress in research is because I am not strong. a different shadow….”
“Stop talking about that, that's not the problem..”
Mirei truly thought so. And if he took enough time, he believed that perfect coexistence with the shadow would be possible..
But there was something she didn't expect.
That there wasn't much time left.
“Wow….”
“Mirei! You witch!”
The chase was persistent..
That group, in particular, included a shadow hunter named Malachus..
Finally, I was pierced by his arrow and swept into the river..
“haha… Unbelievable. This genius Mirei... Cough… I never thought I would make this mistake.”
It was a mistake to get on the carriage carelessly..
His identity was discovered by Malachus. I fought as hard as I could, but the arrows were ultimately unavoidable..
She used her wits and managed to overcome him, but she was not in a good condition. she lost too much blood.
My consciousness gradually faded. Blood continued to flow from my chest..
“omg… Ugh… What record was it... Sodin, remember.?”
“…299It's the second.”
“okay. The 299th record of genius Mirei... uh… I can't think of anything. Why can't I think of anything? Sodin, dying is a strange thing. It hurts but it doesn’t hurt, Sodin was like this too.?”
“…So did I.”
“I'm glad I have you... . uh… uh? I see Yeah, that was the problem.!”
“What are you talking about, Mirei?.”
“Now I know why we can't be one. Cough… Oh, I can’t… I shouldn't die, now I know. I have to prove it to Gregory.….”
“Mirei!”
Mirei realized this before she died..
That you were right. And how to become one with the shadow.
How the shadow and the summoner become a relationship that goes beyond simply submission and accepts each other..
“Summoner too... You have to experience death. that is… That was the only difference between the shadow and the summoner. It was possible if you understood that. But how? Ugh… how should? There's not enough time, no.….”
Mirei's glass-like eyes became increasingly blurred..
It's about to face death.
It was then.
Sodin opened his mouth..
“Mirei.”
“If you are temporarily put into suspended animation... Ah, that's it.”
“Mirei.”
“Sodin… It's cold, are you always cold too? Sorry, I didn't know. Everything in the bag, blanket….”
“Mirei, please listen to me..”
dump.
Sodin knelt in front of Mirei. Mirei asked with blurry eyes..
“Will my end be as Gregory said? Are you disappointed that I couldn't make your wish come true, Sodin? So they're going to eat me?”
“No, I swear that doesn't happen. Mirei.”
“thank god….”
Sodin spoke to her with a determined expression..
“you are a kind person.”
“lol… Ok, thanks.”
Zech.
Sodin held Mirei’s hand..
Her hands were gradually losing strength. Sodin's hands lack warmth, but Mirei's hands will soon become like them..
At that time, Sodin spoke up..
“I'll buy time.”
“what… What are you talking about.”
thud.
Sodin hit his forehead on the floor..
“You shouldn't die yet. You've always lived with it in your mouth, right? I will leave behind a great step. I'm going to prove Gregory wrong. I will make all the shadows move from death to life.”
“…….”
“I will give you my body. It won't last long, but it will give you time to scream to the world..”
“No, Sodin. Ugh… don't do it! Don't do it!”
“If I were stronger, I would have protected you... I'm sorry for being weak.”
Hwiiiiiii-!
Sodin's black energy slowly disintegrated and enveloped Mirei..
It feels like a new skin has been added.
Mirei was able to hear Sodin's last words even as his consciousness faded away..
“Mirei, my wish was for you. May you achieve what you want. hello my friend….”
* * *
Mirei’s cigarette emitted smoke. The smoke pushed away her memories..
Sodin’s face, voice, and memories.
“The living and the dead accept each other. Easier said than done, is it possible? yes? I think so?”
“…Now it all makes sense.”
“You see, Gregory's summons are powerful, but they all hate Gregory. He controls their behavior by imposing restrictions.”
Kangseol quietly listened to Mirei’s words..
“Is that right? I think not. So I'm thinking of giving it a try. Until the last great step.”
Mirei looked at Snowfall's face..
There was no trace of playfulness on her face..
“Through you. Now, choose. It's okay to go back like this. Then we have never met, and if we go far away, there will be no threat to our lives..”
“What are the other options??”
“Help me see the end of this research. In the process you will experience death, so what do you do??”
Now that we know all the circumstances, all that remains is Kang Seol’s choice..
After a brief thought, he opened his mouth to answer..
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