novelraw Chapter 176 : Chapter 176
Chapter 176 : Chapter 176
Chapter : 176
I wondered if dealing with a demon for a long time taught one how to read the desires of others.
Unlike her eyes that burned with greed, the moment a desire of some kind first dwelled in Iris's ever-indifferent eyes was so intense that it felt blinding.
So, for a moment, I forgot that the man was the opponent I had been fighting fiercely for my life just moments ago, and my hand moved first.
+++
▷ Exclusive Skill: I Am the Writer
The words you write become reality.
※ Usable characters: 24 (+7)
+++
The skill window, which I had confirmed with my own two eyes after a long time. The moment that window appeared, I put a strange impulse into words.
｢Mordegar's heart safely beats again｣
The price of the skill was harsh.
A pain more terrible than any I had ever experienced before came over me. A pain that made me think death would be better clawed at, squeezed, and crushed my heart.
My legs lost their strength, and I rolled on the floor, vomiting stomach acid.
I didn't even remember what conversation I had with Iris afterwards. I just barely managed to continue the conversation by fumbling with my consciousness, which felt like it would let go at any moment.
I had only lost consciousness to the pain that surged over me as if to swallow me once more—
“……”
What is this situation? The pain was gone, so I blinked my eyes a few times and then finally decided to walk in the darkness.
I couldn't just stand here in the darkness forever.
As I walked, a sudden wave of anxiety washed over me.
“…He must have lived, right.”
The moment I questioned myself, I slapped my own cheek hard.
The Writer skill is an exclusive skill.
I don't know about other things, but exclusive skills are absolute. Since I wrote that it would beat 'safely' again, it must be beating without any problems.
“Should I have written 'revived'?”
But, if I had written that, his body would not have been able to handle it in the first place.
I could only pray that luck would smile on me a little.
“But how do I escape from here?”
Last time, when I was fighting Baal and fell into a similar space, the system window popped up quickly, and I was kicked out just as fast.
Lately, the system seems to be slacking off.
“System, are you alive?”
Since I'm alive, I should be able to use the Writer skill, a power given by the system, and recover quickly.
But the system, which was strangely quiet even in a situation where it should have thrown me a quest or two to escape safely, made me anxious.
+++
The system is unavailable during data processing.
Please inquire again later.
+++
What does this mean? No matter how I thought about it, the system had many secrets.
In the first place, even the term 'system' was just something I called it for convenience.
“…Enough with the worrying!”
Let's just think about escaping for now!
What kind of life was this, not a Möbius escape room, but the absurdity made me laugh.
It's not like I was determined to die, but to think of saving Mordegar in that situation, really… there's a limit to being foolish.
But how many people could turn away after seeing eyes shouting that they didn't want to die?
So my hand moved unconsciously. It was a reckless act, even by my own standards.
“I'm going to get scolded.”
It was certain with Albedo, and if my father found out, I would definitely get a real scolding.
For helping someone who put me in danger.
“Tsk.”
If only Mordegar hadn't found me in that situation, I could have escaped safely.
…Come to think of it, did I save him for nothing?
To save an enemy who might turn against me, and to have myself retire from the situation!
“That’s a total sweet potato!”
This can't be a sweet potato development, Mordegar!
I clasped my hands together and sent a wish that wouldn't reach Mordegar.
“Let's look around for now.”
I didn't have the luxury to sit here and worry about the future.
I walked aimlessly through the darkness. I couldn't tell which way was forward, or if I was even heading in the right direction.
The fear of being left alone in the dark slowly crept up on me.
“Ugh.”
I didn't have claustrophobia or anything, but this seemed a bit scary. It was enough to give me a condition I didn't have.
It would be better if there was some light, but there wasn't even a sliver.
“Light…”
Even if Albedo couldn't do anything, wouldn't Lou be able to? He was a spirit I had a contract with, after all.
“Lou?”
I called Lou's name softly, but as expected, there was no response.
Of course. Giving up on a good note, I tried to take another step—
“Piiit!!!”
Lou, shining brightly, fell from the air.
* * *
Where did the body go? Iris stood alone in the blood-soaked ruins, crossing her arms and tapping her arm with her fingers.
To think the body would disappear while I was gone for a moment to give first aid.
Did a monster eat it? But for that to be the case, there were no bones left, and the monsters in this dungeon should have been wiped out long ago.
“Did he come back to life?”
The words she uttered herself were so absurd that Iris burst into a sharp laugh.
What a ridiculous notion. His heart had been torn out. The only ones who could live after that were the undead, those who had received the curse of the flame.
As far as Iris knew, Mordegar had never been cursed.
Who would dare to curse one of Iris's possessions, the Master of Gold? They wouldn't, unless they didn't value their lives.
“Did I make a mistake?”
She had clearly felt the heartbeat in her hand slowly weaken and the hot blood grow cold.
“That can't be.”
Then could it be that Theo Lisitoel had used some kind of magic?
“……”
The possibility wasn't low. He seemed to be writing something in the air before he lost consciousness.
“The ability to make what you write a reality…”
The power you possess must be that kind of ability.
There were many hints. Especially when she briefly infiltrated the mercenary corps, her guess became almost a certainty.
He probably wrote something behind her back when he got Lerwon out. This time, she had gone so far as to break his fingers to prevent him from writing, but when she checked again, he had recovered enough to write.
“Hmm.”
An ability that can even save a dying person.
“That's truly a miracle.”
It was an ability worthy of being called a miracle of God.
It would make sense if he was in such a mess and on the verge of death due to its aftereffects.
Iris rubbed the blood-caked floor a few times with her shoe.
“Hoo.”
I wonder if I can make good use of it. It would be useful information to share with ‘him’.
“What should I do.”
Should I track Mordegar down?
Or should I stay by the side of someone who might die at any moment?
“I'm not interested anyway.”
Iris threw the blood-soaked gloves she had been wearing onto the floor.
It was a bit disappointing that he had escaped her plan to kill him, but there was no need to obsess over killing him.
He wasn't so naive as to be killed by someone else. Though Evan was a bit of a concern.
‘You didn't even have the loyalty to come save me.’
Iris, standing in the ruins Mordegar had created, closed her eyes.
Everyone in the back alleys has their own pathetic stories.
A husband who went mad with alcohol after losing his wife, a wretched life sustained by selling one's child, a life steeped in drugs.
Iris knew her own misfortune was not special.
It was just an ordinary misfortune that everyone had. She didn't want to be defined by it or receive pitying glances.
When she thought of the friends who knew her past and looked at her with pity, she just wanted to gouge out their eyeballs herself.
Well, at some point, she started using even that to her advantage.
“You seemed a bit special.”
Unlike the other scraps, I thought of you as a special family, like Lerwon. But I guess that wasn't the case.
“We are no longer walking the same path.”
Was she disappointed by that?
Perhaps. It's meaningless to waste emotions on things that aren't special.
And so, Iris turned her body and went deeper inside.
To save the dying 'special thing'.
The past was no longer important to Iris.
Her bright red eyes shone eerily and sharply, like those of a snake.
* * *
“Huu, heok.”
After Iris left, Mordegar, who had been holding his breath in the ruins, let out a ragged breath.
A sudden turn of events.
He thought he was going to die. He thought he was dead.
The heart, along with the head, was one of the foundations of maintaining life. In alchemy, the elixir that circulated the vitality of all blood was considered more important than the head.
His very source had been torn out.
And yet he didn't die?
Mordegar awkwardly fumbled at the area of his chest where his heart was.
Thump, thump, thump, thump.
His heart pounded painfully, to the point of being stiff.
It asserted its presence more strongly than ever before, as if it had never done so before.
While shedding tears from the inexplicable pain, he recalled the words Iris had muttered alone in the ruins.
The ability to make what is written a reality. A miracle.
A life gained like a miracle.
The next question that came to mind was this.
“You… why?”
It was a fight where they tried to kill each other.
If Mordegar's body had held out a little longer, the one who would have died would have been Theo Lisitoel.
“……”
Tears came out.
He was killed by the master he trusted, yet the one who saved him was the person he tried to kill for that master.
“Keuuk…”
For the first time in a very long time, human emotions washed over him like a tide.
The emotions he had been ignoring all along screamed that they were still inside him.
Amidst the ghostly wails of emotions he thought were dead, Mordin clenched his fists.
“Kuaaaa…!!!”
Tears burst forth. Amidst the emotional tears he shed for the first time in decades, Mordegar wailed with his entire body.
As if that was the only thing he could do, tears poured out as if to empty everything.
“Uuuuaaa!!!”
A scream that couldn't quite form into words escaped Mordegar's lips.
I want to die, I don't want to die.
The two emotions tangled together, leaving Mordegar in tatters.
Even that was his sin, so enduring it was the only atonement, however small.
How much time had passed? When he no longer had the strength to shed tears, Mordegar slowly got up.
His face was a mess from the aftermath of his emotions, and his legs had no strength.
There was only one path left for him.
The overwhelming pain and fear he had felt in the face of death. He had come to know such things.
He couldn't live on while ignoring them any longer.
“I can no longer live by your ways.”
Mordegar looked in the direction Iris had left.
The young Mordin had always followed Iris.
If she said to go somewhere, he would follow that path silently without many words.
But, he would no longer do so.
Mordin turned his head and slowly walked in the opposite direction.
His destination was Lapis Academy.
Everything… was to save his savior, Theo Lisitoel.