A Horror Novel’s Supporting Character Wants to Live as a Human

Chapter 287

Chapter 287

Long ago. Great Mage Eibon wished for magic to be researched and pioneered in all generations.

In all fields discovered to date, a journey to reach the truth and mystery at the highest place that humans had been able to glimpse so far.

The Mage Tower, which would be both the beginning and end of that foundation.

Even after splitting into the Kingdom of Asgard, the Mage Tower had never been empty.

However, at this moment, the Mage Tower was extremely quiet.

Only the sound of the fiercely blowing wind from outside could be heard ominously from time to time.

It wasn't that there were no mages. Rather, it was so full of people that it could be described as bustling.

However, none of them moved.

The sight of them standing still in one place, motionless, was even eerie.Some mages were lying face down on the floor with their eyes tightly closed as if they had just fallen,

Some mages looked as if they had just turned their bodies while stepping backward.

Others were looking back as if startled by something.

All the statues on the first floor were looking toward the stairs,

And snow was falling from the pile accumulated on the stairs.

It wasn't that someone had scooped up snow and brought it. Even if the blizzard had leaked in from somewhere, snow couldn't have accumulated only on the stairs.

A man wandered around among the people.

The man, white from head to toe, didn't even glance at the snow piled on the stairs, and was observing the coldly frozen taxidermied statues with interest.

There were several dark red holes gaping in his loosely opened chest.

Without even thinking of closing them, he who had been looking at the statues suddenly turned toward the entrance.

Naturally, there was no one there.

However, the white man waited with patience.

After standing like that for a while, footsteps were heard.

The sound of a polite knock on the door.

And the creaking sound of hinges opening with difficulty and the noise of it slamming shut in the wind.

The fluttering of a cloak as if shaking off snow and a voice muttering something while brushing it off.

The white man smiled broadly.

And listening to the growing commotion,

"...supposed to do. He must be here- There he is!"

The cold flame finally met his one and only believer.

* * *

The inside of the Mage Tower was a sight to behold.

People were standing frozen everywhere,

And it was even colder inside than outside with cold air packed tightly.

How was it that nothing was intact?

Moreover, Aphoom-Zhah standing in the middle still had Leandros's face.

No, it might have been a bit different from the original face.

That was because he had changed a bit from the Aphoom-Zhah in his memories.

"Did you do all this?"

[Our first greeting after meeting in so long is that kind? You're still not delicate with your senses, believer.]

"Can you return it to normal?"

[I can thaw them.]

"Thaw?"

[Not all frozen things will function normally.]

Ha. This was driving him crazy.

Even looking around again, he could only think 'this is driving me crazy.'

All these people were mages, weren't they? Was it okay to completely extinct mages in one country?

Wouldn't this cause problems for Aquilonia later?

While he was holding his head with all sorts of worries rushing in, Yurik whispered from beside him.

"It's not Yesung's fault."

"Will the people in the royal castle believe that?"

"...That's a somewhat different problem."

"Ha."

Really what the... No. Never mind. At least they had recovered Aphoom-Zhah, so that was fortunate.

He composed himself and asked Aphoom-Zhah.

"What about the magical power supply?"

[Now I'm normally connected with my believer. Though it wasn't a normal ritual, this body was sufficiently satisfied.]

"That's fortunate. Then stop that blizzard outside. Why is it like that? Are you angry?"

[Wouldn't you be if you were my believer?]

"You're not just angry at the Mage Tower?"

[After all the suffering this body endured from long ago to provide for lowly insects to live, instead of serving this body in gratitude, they devoured me for their selfish desires. Even killing all humans except my believer wouldn't satisfy me.]

How should he put it? In the past, he felt like he would have desperately tried to stop this.

But now, with Aphoom-Zhah raging like this, he didn't particularly feel like stopping him.

Normally he would have asked for leniency, but if the mages had torn apart his body, even he would be a bit angry.

Besides, even if he tried to stop him, would Aphoom-Zhah say 'alright' and calm down?

This was largely the Asgard mages' fault,

So he was having various thoughts without being able to stop Aphoom-Zhah or do anything.

Then his eyes suddenly met Yurik's.

Yurik looked at him for a moment and then grimaced once.

It was an expression asking 'are you just going to leave it like this?'

Only after seeing that did he come to his senses.

It wasn't him and Aphoom-Zhah, but Yurik was an Aquilonian prince after all.

If the current international situation went wrong, he didn't know how it might turn against him disadvantageously.

After all, he had promised to put Yurik on the throne.

When he turned his head, Aphoom-Zhah was now forcibly turning the arm of a completely frozen human statue.

"Aphoom-Zhah, let's talk for a moment."

[This body has nothing to discuss with a believer harboring wicked thoughts.]

"No, listen. It won't be a bad story for you either."

[Nothing is better than venting this body's anger no matter what you do. Believer, stop wagging that tongue of yours. If you keep that up, someday you'll surely get it cut off.]

This bastard. He was only quick-witted.

And he was speaking completely like a modern Korean after absorbing his memories.

"It's not like that. I don't care if you bring blizzards or cover Asgard with snow. But aren't you a bit frustrated?"

[What do you mean?]

"Even if you get angry like this now, no one will know your name? I met a few people on the way here, and no one knows your name."

[What? Believer, are you saying that's not a lie?]

"Of course. You know what? They say there are no gods here."

[Then what is this body? Believer. You're crossing the line now. Even in Theem'dra, those who praised my name were everywhere.]

"I'm not fabricating it, it's real. Right, Yurik?"

He pulled Yurik forward in front of Aphoom-Zhah, who was staring at him incredulously.

Yurik, who was suddenly dragged out, answered refreshingly right away.

"I don't know about alien races. But it's right that there are no gods."

[What!?]

"See, Aphoom-Zhah. There's a reason the mages ate you. Since you're unknown, no one recognized you. If you were a god with a known name, would they have carelessly touched you?"

[Does that mean this body has become a nobody among humans? Really no one knows this body? They don't know me, the Lord of the Extreme Realm and Eibon's teacher? This body is a nobody?]

"People these days don't know such things. So no matter how angry you get, people will just think it's a natural disaster and die."

[How, how can this happen! Not knowing this body! Not knowing this body that summons all cold! Not knowing me, the strongest among all existing gods!]

Aphoom-Zhah raged wildly.

He raised both hands to calm him down as his face turned glacier blue.

"Look here. If no one knows you, who will worship you and who will serve you? Instead of just getting angry like this, how about letting Asgard know of your existence from now on?"

[Let them know of this body's existence?]

"Asgard was looking for the cause of this cold anyway. Let's stop the blizzard and tell them you can control the cold."

[And?]

"And make them worship you."

[And?]

"After creating your believers here, come with me to Aquilonia. There will be many times we need your power there too."

Come on, take the bait.

Whether the proposal to create many believers was effective, Aphoom-Zhah was hesitating about which would be better.

Yurik, who had been watching this, said to him.

"Introducing this being to others as a god doesn't seem like a very good idea right now."

"Why?"

"I don't know about the old days, but now the concept of gods has become very diluted. Rather, say he's a successor inheriting Great Mage Eibon's lineage."

"Would that be better?"

"That way, you could have some influence on the Mage Towers existing on the continent. It's not bad for Yesung either. Just claiming to have connections with Eibon's legitimate successor would be convenient."

No matter how long Aphoom-Zhah had kept his feet on the ground, a god was ultimately a god.

The perspectives of gods and humans were very different. He didn't think Aphoom-Zhah would think in human terms.

To attach the title of 'Great Mage's successor' to such an Aphoom-Zhah?

While he was delaying his answer because he somehow didn't feel like it, Aphoom-Zhah suddenly interrupted.

[Very well.]

"Aphoom-Zhah!"

[What is it, believer? Do you think this body cannot adequately perform the role of a mere human? Not a chance. This great body can accomplish anything.]

"If you act strangely and get caught, we might all be in big trouble."

[You underestimate this body. Cute unbeliever. Isn't this the concept of amusement that only humans can enjoy? I too have great interest in it. Don't worry too much. This body has mingled with humans longer than the unbeliever.]

"Oh, is that so? You went around with holes in your chest because you spent so much time with humans? Did that feel refreshing?"

[Hmph.]

Aphoom-Zhah snorted and swept his solid chest.

Where his hand passed, only perfectly restored skin remained.

He swept his long white hair over his shoulder and smiled confidently.

[Lead the way, unbeliever. Let us go to the humans. I shall bestow my generosity upon you and present an amusing play.]

* * *

"As soon as this blizzard subsides, you must expel those wicked Aquilonians, Your Majesty!"

King Oderus had been hearing the same words repeated since he awakened.

This was all because of the two Aquilonians who had returned to the royal castle last night.

Moreover, one of them was Aquilonia's 3rd Prince, a talent expected to demonstrate great governance if designated as successor.

Of course, no matter how great the vessel, it was clear he couldn't do anything in a small country like Aquilonia.

Therefore, Oderus hadn't been paying much attention to him.

But he had to acknowledge that his spirit, which he had seen directly yesterday, was remarkable.

Even setting aside his handsome face, his atmosphere absolutely couldn't be seen as that of a brat just over twenty.

He had assumed he would be a coward crushed under the authoritative atmosphere of the royal castle,

But rather, he was at a similar level to himself who had experienced all sorts of hardships.

That's why he had accepted the conditions proposed by Aquilonia's 3rd Prince yesterday.

He would stop this blizzard within today,

And if he couldn't, he would remain in Asgard as a hostage himself.

It was a welcome deal from Asgard's perspective.

There was much to extract from Aquilonia.

Really, really much. From basic resources like stone, grain, food, livestock to gold.

Of course, the blizzard that drove people mad was also an urgent problem, but King Oderus hadn't abandoned his long-cherished dream of continental unification either.

But what did these stupid ministers have in their heads that they had been gathering since morning to plead?

The Aquilonians must be expelled, they were surely the source of trouble, what if they fled after being sent away like this.

King Oderus answered solemnly.

"Cross-border teleportation magic cannot supply magical power unless by an authorized mage. Also, since the blizzard is severe, even if they don't go mad, they won't be able to leave the capital. They'll freeze to death before that."

"However, Your Majesty! Why do you rely on foreigners instead of Asgard's Mage Tower? The Mage Tower has excellent talents raised by Asgard!"

"They too haven't found proper solutions and are just spouting nonsense! What exactly do you expect! Do you think if you just sit still, a mage or someone will suddenly appear and solve everything!"

"Your Majesty, Asgard is not weak enough to borrow the power of suspicious guests from a small country! Asgard will unify the continent-"

"Weak. Sufficiently weak. How can we dream the grand dream of continental unification when collected taxes are decreasing and kingdom citizens are freezing to death? If there's even a pea-sized brain in your heads, try thinking!"

Finally, King Oderus's angry voice rang throughout the hall.

It was natural for fear to arise when all personnel in the castle were suddenly trapped.

But would expelling the Aquilonians solve things, wagging their tongues as if it would?

Oderus thought that if he were just 10 years younger, he would have cut out their tongues right here and now.

He sat on the throne and clenched and unclenched his fist.

"Withdraw. I must think about the treatment of the Aquilonians."

Had he become too old and his wisdom clouded?

Or was it confusing because too many things were happening simultaneously in these times?

When the King leaned back with a groan, quick footsteps were heard.

A page came quietly but urgently and whispered something to the protocol officer who directly attended the King.

The one who heard it gestured with a perplexed expression to dismiss the page.

The protocol officer hesitantly approached King Oderus with an extremely polite attitude.

Hearing the news he delivered, the King slowly stood up without realizing it.

As he stood, the servants and knights attending the King suddenly moved, making the hall chaotic.

Nevertheless, the King hurried his steps and quickly went outside the royal castle.

Passing through the long corridor, the sky seen beyond the frozen windows was no longer a gloomy gray.

When the firmly closed castle gates opened wide, snow sparkling in the faint sunlight covered the entire world.

The subjects, knights, courtiers, servants, and maids who had followed the King all stood dumbfounded, overwhelmed by a scene they had never seen in their lives.

Beyond the beautiful scenery that looked like another world,

A person like a painting was crossing the snowfield with white hair fluttering.