Ch#57
* * *
“Hah, hah! Aigoo……”
Tie stood gasping for breath under the streetlight, finally exhaling the air she'd been holding.
Her head spun, her kindergarten bag dangled precariously from one shoulder, and rainwater kept flooding her vision.
“Sovereign King! Where did you disappear to! Are you trying to kill me and destroy my furnace! You think the Primordial Furnace is a joke—?!”
Behind her, Berugon's furious shouts echoed nonstop.
Startled, Tie ducked behind a nearby recycling bin.
Through the narrow gap between the bins, she could see Berugon.
He stood in the middle of the empty intersection, looking around wildly like a madman.
Chills ran up her arms.
“Where are you, Sovereign King! Come out!”
At that moment, another subtle voice layered faintly over Berugon's.
Tie had seen something like this before.
Exactly on a children's TV show.
‘It's just like when the hero gets controlled by the villain and their voice changes!’
Tie stood up from her spot.
Then she crept quietly into a nearby alley.
But while jumping over a puddle on the ground, she stepped on a manhole cover.
“Over there!”
At the clattering sound, Berugon, who had been far away, whipped his head toward Tie.
“Eeeek.”
Tie, locking eyes with Berugon, jumped up from her spot and started running again.
Berugon chased after her, and the red haze chased after Berugon.
“Stop right there! I'll kill you!”
“Gwoom grandpa is chasing meee……!”
Screaming, Tie wondered how things had come to this.
This chase, more terrifying than the typhoon, the rainy night streets, or the radio, had begun exactly 20 minutes ago.
The moment Tie discovered Krazar's core in Berugon's inner pocket.
* * *
“I can't give my weapons to anyone. Not to the holy knights, not to the mercenaries, not even if it's the emperor himself……”
20 minutes earlier.
Tie covered her mouth upon spotting something faintly gleaming inside Berugon's lowered collar.
‘Krazar's core!’
The very thing that had dragged her and Berugon into the subspace was right there.
‘How did this happen?’
Her heart pounded, but Tie slapped her own cheek with a sharp smack to stay alert.
Her thoughts were simple yet logical.
‘This is a space of fear created by Krazar!’
She didn't know how to get out, but at least Krazar's core was right in front of her eyes.
And as a seasoned mercenary who had sieged three magic stones, Tie knew something.
‘If I investigate that, maybe I can figure something out?’
That monsters' weaknesses lie in their cores.
Krazar's core glimmered faintly again before her eyes.
‘If I just break that, maybe we can get out……?’
Tie stared intently at Berugon, still muttering to himself on the ground.
Then she quietly raised one hand.
‘If I take it very, very carefully…….’
But she soon had no choice but to lower her hand again.
“I'll kill them all, drive them all out……. Weapons are sacred. The filthy ones are humans. The corrupt ones are humans……”
Because Berugon's eyes, muttering incomprehensible words, gave her the creeps.
He looked just like a time bomb about to explode, no matter how she saw it.
‘He's gonna bite me.’
He reminded her of the black dog her classmate Taeho used to raise.
It would stand there blankly, then suddenly lunge at passersby with malicious intent.
Of course, Tie was always cautious and never got bitten even once.
Tie stood frozen in place, deep in thought.
The core inside Berugon's clothes still glimmered faintly.
‘How can I get that?’
She was silently tracing the core's outline with her eyes when,
“Huh?”
Suddenly, Tie noticed something else.
‘……Thread?’
Now that she looked, something faint extended from Berugon's inner pocket.
It resembled the glittery anvil they'd used in craft time.
Following the uneven, thick thread, Tie gaped wide.
“Connected to the haze?”
The core was linked to the red mist across the street, targeting Tie.
Tie's face turned deadly serious in an instant.
“……Kwa-zar.”
It was beyond intuition now—it was her mercenary instincts telling her.
“So it was you after all.”
That the red mist connected to the core, Krazar itself, was currently controlling Berugon.
“Sovereign King……”
Just then, a eerie voice leaked from Berugon's mouth.
Subtly, another voice overlapped it.
“Sovereign King.”
Berugon jerked his head up.
His hazy eyes still lacked focus.
Tie clutched her kindergarten bag and said,
“Don't come cwose!”
But naturally, Berugon ignored her words.
“Sovereign King, you……”
With a pale face, he took a step forward and said,
“I'll kill you.”
It was a threat so dry it sent shivers down her spine.
And at the same time,
[Looks delicious—]
A faint whisper echoed in the air.
Tie, who had frozen, spun around the next instant.
And she started running with all her might.
Because the moment the whisper rang in her ears, Berugon and the red mist began chasing her as if they'd been waiting.
* * *
Meanwhile, inside a greenhouse bathed in warm sunlight.
“Go on, keep talking. I'm listening.”
Someone seated on a mahogany bench spoke in a calm voice.
A polite response flowed from the communication orb in their hand.
[So, given the severity of the situation, we're considering issuing a mobilization order to the top three mercenary groups first.]
“……I see.”
Bare feet, untouched by shoes, brushed against the elegantly mingled white lilies, roses, and purple irises.
The feet soon came to a still halt.
“Well, if Krazar's core has reacted, it is indeed a serious situation. However.”
The voice's owner slowly rose from the bench.
As they walked toward the marble fountain, their sky-blue cloak fluttered softly.
“Will those three leaders obey the Association's orders so obediently?”
Slim, long fingers tapped the fountain's edge—tok, tok—as if voicing their concerns.
A response came immediately from the orb.
[‘Silvar's Scream’ will likely dispatch personnel right away. They've bulked up recently from the commissions we assigned them. As for rank 2 ‘Grim Reaper,’ they've never been a rebellious group anyway. They'll listen reasonably.]
“And Trebaga?”
The blue cloak spun around and headed back toward the mahogany bench.
“Will they move too? To rescue those trapped in Krazar's subspace, Tesetan Veronío's ‘those eyes’ will be crucial. Without him, resolving the situation will be difficult, no matter what.”
[Exactly. Honestly, that obnoxious guy might just refuse to go…….]
A sigh breathed out from the orb.
[We'll have to urge him anyway. Especially since Weapon District Berugon is trapped.]
“Yes. We can't forget Agavert's pitiful leader, who's just starting to make a name either.”
[Anyway. Shall I issue the mobilization order?]
The footsteps slowly circling the corridor finally stopped.
Only after a brief pause did they reply.
“Yes.”
[Publicly?]
A calm response followed the short breath.
“Yes. Things have been quiet for a while. It's time for the Association to step up again.”
