novelraw Chapter 230 : The North (9)
Chapter 230 : The North (9)
“…What do you mean by that, Sir Seo U-jin?”
The Commander questioned U-jin, who had interjected out of nowhere.
The aide-de-camp, who had been trying to lead U-jin out, furrowed his brow for a moment.
The reason was simple.
No matter how great U-jin's contributions were, or how much respect Christopher Christian showed him, it was ultimately a matter of courtesy.
No matter how polite Christopher Christian was to U-jin, it didn't mean he could arbitrarily cross the lines established by military law.
And in the current situation, U-jin's interruption was tantamount to infringing upon the Commander's right to summary judgment.
Of course, he hadn't taken direct action, merely voicing his objection, so it wasn't serious enough to warrant punishment on the spot.
However, if this person was truly infected with the 'Black Blood Disease', considering the gravity of the matter, it wouldn't be strange for him to be punished.
If U-jin had been an ordinary 1-Star Hero, he might have already received a barrage of curses from the Commander.
But it was as if he was completely unaware of this.
“Exactly what I said. You'll regret it if you kill that man, Commander.”
“…”
U-jin answered the Commander's question calmly.
As if the gazes directed at him meant nothing.
Shhh-
Step, step-
He then lightly shook off the aide-de-camp's grip on his wrist and stepped toward the patient.
The patient was groaning.
U-jin looked down at him and added.
“If this man dies, he'll explode, and you'll be the first to be infected, Commander.”
“…!”
“And if I hadn't left, I probably would have been infected as well.”
It was a shocking statement.
His tone was flat, devoid of emotion, as if simply stating a fact, yet its content was utterly astounding.
So much so that even the great Christopher Christian flinched and recoiled for a moment.
Infection by explosion.
“…What are you talking about? The transmission route for Black Blood Disease is contact. It's common sense that not killing them will only make the situation worse.”
Perhaps because he himself had been directly mentioned, despite the clear denial in his words,
Christopher Christian slowly lowered the sword he had raised above his head and turned his body toward U-jin.
In truth, from Christopher Christian's perspective, U-jin's story couldn't help but sound strange.
By all accounts, U-jin was a Hero who had only recently arrived from a Lower-Dimensional Plane.
No matter how extraordinary his actions had been, or how much his power and influence far surpassed that of a 1-Star Hero, he was still a person with little 'experience'.
In other words, someone who had never even encountered the 'Black Blood Disease'.
In contrast, 'Christopher Christian' had previously served as a commander in charge of the northern region.
As someone who had personally witnessed the outbreak of the Black Blood Disease and the retreat beyond the Black Sea, it was only right that, given the current situation, U-jin should have nothing to say to the Commander, 'Christopher Christian'.
While there might not be any true experts on the 'Black Blood Disease', whose pathogenesis and many other aspects remained unknown, he was, at the very least, a man who had killed his own subordinates due to it.
No matter how little he knew, it couldn't be less than what U-jin knew.
Well, from Christopher Christian's perspective, the very fact that U-jin was acting as if he knew about the 'Black Blood Disease' was difficult to accept in the first place.
‘…’
The Black Blood Disease was considered a dark chapter in the Order's history and was still a hushed topic within its ranks, so no one would bring it up unless specifically asked.
In short.
U-jin's current actions were not based on common sense, nor were they rational, and to follow his words would be nothing but a testament to his own foolishness.
The outbreak of the Black Blood Disease was not a trivial matter to be dictated by the whims of an ignorant Hero.
Nevertheless, the reason he had stopped his actions was…
U-jin's unwavering gaze and his tone.
And above all, it was because of the unique 'unpredictability' inherent in the actions he had shown thus far.
“…Do you know something about the Black Blood Disease?”
To the Commander's low question, U-jin responded not with an answer, but with a question of his own.
“How do you think I got here?”
“Well…”
At the sudden question, Christopher Christian found himself reflecting on U-jin's movements.
“…”
But unlike the immediate start to his sentence, the explanation that should have followed did not come out.
After all, that was the very thing Christopher Christian had intended to ask U-jin during their private meeting tonight.
Thinking it over again, it just didn't make sense.
The time of U-jin's arrival was not much different from the time the request for support had arrived.
It was an impossible timeframe, even if he had flown on a top-tier flight Artifact the moment he received the request.
In other words, U-jin had come here for a reason separate from the support request Christopher Christian had sent to headquarters.
As Christopher Christian racked his brain trying to piece together the incomprehensible puzzle, a thought suddenly flashed through his mind.
‘…Context.’
The thought that U-jin's question, which he'd considered random, might have actually been contextual.
In the middle of a conversation about the Black Blood Disease, he had suddenly asked 'how he was able to get here'.
Separate from the support request, he came here because of the Black Blood Disease.
“…Did you know? That the Black Blood Disease would break out here?”
Thinking of it that way, it wasn't entirely nonsensical.
Of course, the question of how that was even possible remained unclear.
But in the current situation, there was no other conclusion to be drawn.
And to Christopher Christian's conclusion.
Nod-
U-jin nodded his head.
“…Well, to be precise, it wasn't that I knew the Black Blood Disease would appear, but rather that a Knight-rank Demonic Species would.”
“…!”
He knew a Knight-rank would appear.
U-jin had said it as if it were nothing, but it was not a statement that could be so easily overlooked.
Given that several Heroes had already lost their lives at the hands of that 'unscheduled Knight-rank', it was a statement that could easily get him branded as a spy.
Of course, the fact that he was saying it so openly in front of a commander in the field suggested otherwise, but even so, he had been far too composed from the beginning.
“I noticed earlier that you seem to know a little about me.”
“…”
“Do you also happen to know that I went to prison?”
Christopher Christian, who had been nodding at U-jin's question,
“…!”
suddenly saw his eyes widen.
The reason was simple.
With that one additional question, the shape of the complex, distorted puzzle began to faintly emerge.
“…If you mean Lord Button.”
U-jin had once been imprisoned in the Darkest Dungeon for the 'murder of a Hero', and Leonardo Louis Button had used an Indulgence for him.
It wasn't widely publicized within the Order, so some were unaware, but most high-ranking Priests knew the story.
That was how Christopher Christian had first come to know the name 'Seo U-jin'.
Nod-
“That's right.”
“…I see.”
Christopher Christian nodded his head in acknowledgment.
“…Then that makes sense. If the Exorcists were conducting a separate investigation because this was related to the Demonic Species, not just a simple battlefield matter.”
It would explain how reinforcements in the form of U-jin arrived separately from the support request, and it would also somewhat explain how a 1-Star Hero like U-jin could handle a Knight-rank on his own.
“Then, Sir Seo U-jin, do you belong to the Exorcists?”
“Well… strictly speaking, I don't belong to them. It's more of a give-and-take cooperative relationship since I received something from them.”
“…”
“To put it simply, yes. I do.”
The parts that hadn't made sense began to fall into place one by one in Christopher Christian's mind.
Of course, not all his questions were resolved with U-jin's single question.
There was still one unconnected piece of the puzzle.
“Then are you saying this Black Blood Disease… is related to that Knight-rank?”
U-jin had said he arrived here while tracking a 'Knight-rank Demonic Species', not the 'Black Blood Disease'.
Simply looking at the two facts side by side, it was difficult to find a connection between them.
From the context of U-jin's words, he could roughly guess that the two were linked, but that part hadn't been clearly resolved yet.
And to Christopher Christian's question, U-jin nodded his head once more.
“It's the work of the Demonic Species. The very reason I separated this Knight-rank and tracked it alone was because I had confirmed symptoms similar to the Black Blood Disease.”
“…!”
“Fortunately, the Exorcists discovered it first, so the problem didn't spread widely. But if the disease had spread among the civilian population, it would have become a problem across the entire continent before we could even react.”
The Commander's demeanor had clearly changed.
From 'bewilderment' to 'trust'.
It was the power wielded by the name 'Leonardo Louis Button', the most respected figure among the Order's high-ranking Priests.
“Then, the story about 'exploding' from before…”
“Whether it's the work of the Demonic Species or not, the symptoms are identical to the previous Black Blood Disease outbreaks, but there's a difference in the transmission method.”
“…”
“Before, it was simple physical contact. Now, the moment of death, the corpse explodes, and a spore-like substance combines with the mana in the air. You could call it a variant of the Black Blood Disease.”
“…”
“That's why I stopped you just now. If he explodes in here, everyone inside the barracks will be infected instantly.”
Haa.
At U-jin's explanation, the Commander, 'Christopher Christian', let out a low groan.
It was an absurd story that would have been hard to believe if he hadn't mentioned the name of the Exorcists.
If U-jin's words, spoken without a hint of hesitation, were indeed true, then he had just nearly committed a colossal blunder that could have doomed the entire Order, all based on his own paltry knowledge of the Black Blood Disease.
It wasn't just the problem of him getting infected; the thought of how much damage the resulting spread of the Black Blood Disease would inflict upon the Order was a truly horrifying, spine-chilling moment.
The fall of the vanguard that had crossed first through the Beautiful Reef was not the main issue.
In the worst-case scenario, if the disease had spread to the rear guard following the vanguard to face the armies of the Count's domain and beyond, the situation would have likely become uncontrollable.
“…Then. Is there a way?”
Looking down at the soldier who was still screaming, Christopher Christian sheathed his sword and asked in a grave voice.
And U-jin's answer to that was.
Grin—
“…Of course.”