Chapter 217. Narsha Haram (4)
Two days had passed since Chi-Woo left Shalyh.
“My Lord, today…” Noel carefully entered Chi-Hyun’s office. She had been enjoying a very happy life these past few days because Chi-Hyun had been visiting her daily at a set time to treat her. Aside from the fact that her physical condition was in tatters, she was extremely grateful that Chi-Hyun hadn’t kicked her out for disobeying his order. Moreover, she had the insolent thought that she was on a date with her revered lord every day, and she enjoyed every second of it, so much so she congratulated herself for making the spectacular decision of following Chi-Woo and screamed in delight constantly.
However, Chi-Hyun hadn’t come to visit her today. Noel, who knew that Chi-Hyun kept his promise with extreme punctuality, became worried that something might have happened; she thus visited Chi-Hyun’s office. However, Chi-Hyun wasn’t there. His desk, which had always been full of documents, was empty today. Noel blinked and turned on her device after thinking for a second.
“…What?” Then her eyes widened.
* * *
At Bogle’s cries, they all rushed to check Airi’s condition. It didn’t seem good from a glance. While her injury didn’t look serious with only a fang mark on her body that looked like a snake’s bite, and the bleeding had stopped, the wound on her sky blue fur had turned red with blood, and the blood was hardening quickly. The drops of blood dangling at the tip of her hair were freezing like icicles and on the verge of turning into scabs.
“Ugh…Ugh…” Airi groaned in pain, and she looked extremely distressed. She hadn’t yet lost her hold on her consciousness, but she looked close to losing herself—not for just a moment, but for good.
“Uh, what do we do, captain? Airi is going to die at this rate!”
When Bogle nervously bit his nails and shouted, Dalgil flew into a rage, “Save her! Don’t stay still and do something! That’s your role!”
“Damn it! I know it too! But I’m an expert in spiritual healing, not medical healing!”
“Why didn’t you prepare medicine or an antidote for these kinds of situations!?”
“I already used some! But it’s not working!” True to Bogle’s words, there were already several empty bottles lying around him. “Disregarding the poison, the evil energy has already infiltrated into her intestines! The fangs pierced her gut! Even I can’t…!” Bogle couldn’t bear to finish, and Dalgil’s complexion grew deathly pale.
“Huff…Huff…” At that moment, Airi barely managed to open her eyes. “Sorry…” Her blinking eyes lost focus. “Captain, as you said…I guess I was too…rash…” She continued with a weak voice, “It’s been a while…going outside…so I was…too…excited…” Her faint voice was choppy with pauses. “I should…have…been more…careful…ugh!” She couldn’t finish and groaned in pain.
“Airi! Don’t talk! Save your energy! Your condition will get worse!” Bogle shouted while crying, but Airi couldn’t hear him. She was going through intense pain, and Dalgil’s expression crumbled as he felt her life force quickly dwindling.
Dalgil shouted, “Save her! Airi can’t die! You need to save her at all costs!”
“Ca—please calm down!” As the atmosphere intensified, Ru Amuh hurriedly tried to calm Dalgil.
“I know…I also know that but…damn it-ahh! God Miho…!” Bogle cried out to his god while grabbing onto his oak staff.
While Bogle wailed loudly and chanted spells futilely, Chi-Woo quickly ran forward and went down on one knee, putting his hand on Airi’s wound. Dalgil, who had been huffing, stopped moving when he saw what Chi-Woo was doing. Perhaps—
Flash! Light burst from Chi-Woo’s hand, and the light flowed into her wound and dyed her body white. Dalgil and Bogle were all intently focused on this scene, and Ru Hiana tightly held her hands together and prayed with an anxious heart. After some time, Airi’s groans gradually died down.
“…Ah?” Her eyes fluttered open. Her whole body trembled, and she began wriggling.
“Uh…what…? Her body…?” It had seemed as if Airi was going to die at any moment, but she quickly regained her energy after the light surrounded her. Bogle hurriedly checked Airi’s condition and exclaimed in amazement, “The evil energy is gone!”
The evil energy, which had been eating her insides at a rapid pace, disappeared like it’d been washed away completely. Of course, this didn’t mean that her injury had disappeared. Chi-Woo’s exorcism mana only cleansed the evil energy and was not able to heal wounds. Thus, Airi still had external injuries, but her condition had noticeably improved.
“Hmm…It’s warm…feels nice…” Her voice sounded stronger, and she curled up her body.
“Woah…Wowww…” Bogle couldn’t close his mouth when he witnessed Chi-Woo so easily drive out the evil energy, which was renowned for being extremely dreadful. Then he hugged Airi with teary eyes. “Wahhhhhh! Airi! You’re alive! You’re alive!”
“Ack…! You idiot…! I’m still injured…!” Airi also instinctively realized that her condition had improved, so she smiled while furrowing her brows in pain.
Dalgil stopped holding his breath and shook his head. “Airi would have died here without you. Thank you. Thanks to you, she lived.” Dalgil sighed in relief and bowed to thank Chi-Woo. Then he murmured, “…But are you really not a priest?”
Chi-Woo shrugged, saying it didn’t matter either way.
* * *
Thanks to Chi-Woo’s exorcism mana, Airi was able to narrowly escape death. However, she had merely survived, and she was no longer able to fulfill her duty. Bogle suggested going back through the same path they took to come here. The poison had been cleansed, and the evil energy had disappeared, but Airi’s injury was still critical. Bogle argued that the medicine allowed Airi to maintain her current condition and live, but she needed to receive proper treatment as soon as possible. However, his argument was met with fierce opposition.
“Hey, you idiot…! Don’t you know how important this expedition is to Dalgil…?”
“But—”
“If you go back because of me…I…would feel extremely terrible even if I get better…I’d rather die…”
“But you can’t even walk properly now!”
“Then leave me and go…that would be better…” No matter how hard Bogle tried to persuade her, Airi remained firm in her beliefs; she didn’t back down and insisted on not returning.
“This isn’t such a simple issue,” Dalgil spoke his mind as well, but he looked clearly conflicted. Given Airi was the one saying this, he felt even more conflicted.
“Since the guide could not showcase her full skills, wouldn’t it be hard to continue the expedition?” Ru Amuh was correct; there must be a guide in any expedition. With Airi’s condition compromised, it was better to go back.
“No…! I can still go…! We’re almost there…!” However, as Airi said, there was room for further consideration.
“Even though the expedition’s ability to scout for enemies has dropped, and that is a matter of concern, we can reach our destination without issue. Bogle and I both know where it is.” After hesitating for a while, Dalgil continued, “The problem is…that isn’t the only problem.”
“What is it?” Ru Amuh asked.
“Anguses’ habits,” Dalgil continued. “Anguses usually move in one big group, but they sometimes divide themselves into two groups and move together.”
Ru Amuh’s eyes became sharp at his words, and he scanned their surroundings.
“In that case, one would be carrying out the operation, while the other quietly observes in hiding and makes a decision—whether to stay still, join the former group, or run away.”
“Perhaps…”
“Yes, if they had split in two, they would’ve missed the timing to intervene because everything ended so quickly.” Dalgil clutched his head and looked troubled. “If that’s the case…the other group must have already escaped. I’m sure of it. Those guys are extremely sly and cunning. They must have judged that they wouldn’t stand a chance after seeing the capabilities of that combat priest.”
It was only then did Ru Amuh finally realize Dalgil’s concerns. It wouldn’t be a problem if the anguses had simply run away, but this area was under the great demon Botis’ influence. In other words, if the anguses quickly notified their forces about them, Botis’ army could be mobilized.
“Then isn’t that all the more reason for us to return to Shalyh?”
“Yeah, that’s right. But…” Nothing was certain yet. Airi was no longer able to fight or guide, but she wasn’t immediately at risk of dying. The angus had the tendency to divide into two groups, but it was only a rare occurrence. They might not have done so this time.
Unable to contribute to the conversation, Chi-Woo carefully observed Dalgil; first, Dalgil didn’t look like a bad captain. He was very skilled, and based on Bogle and Airi’s reaction, he was someone worth trusting. But most of all, Chi-Woo sensed that Dalgil wanted to go back like Bogle. Why was he so conflicted then? He didn’t know the full circumstances, but it seemed there were unknown circumstances—something not related to failing the promotion test.
‘On second thought, Mr. Mangil also spoke as if we must succeed at all costs…’ Otherwise, Mangil wouldn’t have paid several times the original price so easily. Then Chi-Woo heard a long sign from Dalgil.
“Bogle,” Dalgil said after finally making his decision.
“Uh? Yes!”
“Throw the staff.”
Bogle was shocked. “C-captain! But!”
“I won’t accept any more objections. Throw it.”
Bogle frowned and looked crossed, but he didn’t disobey Dalgil’s order. With trembling hands, he took out the staff and threw it up. The oak staff twirled in the air before falling and spinning on the ground. While everyone was focused on it, the staff came to a stop—pointing not at the holy city of Shalyh, but their destination.
“Ah!” Bogle clutched his head.
On the contrary, Aria looked pleased, “Good…Good…”
“We will continue the expedition after clearing the battlefield. Bogle, you take Airi with you.”
“But…Bogle’s bag is too small so it’s uncomfortable… Is there a human who can take me…? In dangerous situations, you can just stuff me in your pocket…”
Ru Hiana quickly volunteered. The expedition members cleaned up all of the dead anguses and began moving again.
A little later…
“I knew it.” When the expedition members disappeared, a man suddenly appeared into view. He lifted his leg and lightly tapped the earth with his toes.
Quiver! That movement alone rocked the whole area. At the same time, several cries were heard simultaneously in the distance. A group of anguses, which had all been fleeing, let out a painful scream, and every single one of them died. Just like that, the risk of scouts reporting to Botis disappeared; that was why God Miho said it was okay for the expedition to continue.
“…Geez.” Chi-Hyun bent his neck left and right and muttered as he looked at the direction his brother had gone in. Chi-Woo had been a handful ever since he was young.
* * *
Their destination was not far off. It was a distance that could be reached in a day or two. On the fourth day, the expedition team finally entered new terrain. To the left, a light green field stretched on, and to the right, a forest boasting lush bushes increased in altitude little by little. And there was a river that rose high in the east and low in the west, separating these two areas and nourishing the soil.
‘What did they say the mountain was? It was called a volcano something.’ Chi-Woo looked at the volcano that had grown closer and stopped when Dalgil came to an abrupt halt at the front. A sense of anxiety spread among the group. After Airi was no longer able to fight, the expedition team moved forward like they were walking on thin ice. Although Hawa had stepped up as the guide since the situation was urgent, her scouting and sensing abilities were significantly lower than those of Airi’s. Thus, it couldn’t be helped that the expedition members would be extremely tense; they had to keep checking the front, back, left, right, and even the ground. Fortunately, they hadn’t met any other enemies after the angus, but the reason why Dalgil had stopped was…
“We’ve arrived.” Everyone instinctively looked around at Dalgil’s words. They couldn’t see any structure; all they could see was a wide field.
“Is this the spot identified by the oracle?”
“Yeah. Rather than a spot, I would say this is the area the oracle specified. It’s roughly around here.”
Ru Amuh asked for confirmation, and Dalgil stepped on the ground and replied. Then he told them to wait for a while and called out to Bogle. Bogle unpacked his bag as if he had been waiting all along and took out several items.
“Senior, what are they doing?” Ru Hiana looked at Bogle busily moving about and asked Chi-Woo.
“It seems…he’s setting up an altar for a ceremony.” Chi-Woo, who had been watching in silence, told her his hypothesis.
“An altar? That’s an altar?”
“It’s an informal one, since we can’t suddenly build a shrine or a temple here.”
“Even if it’s informal, that’s a little…”
Chi-Woo smiled wryly; true to Ru Hiana’s words, it was way too simple. The makeshift altar was worse than a ritual table.
“Not all gods like extravagance. Depending on their personality, there are gods who forgive simplicity depending on the situation. It seems like God Mamiya doesn't care too much about formalities.”
It was then a short laugh rang in his ears. Chi-Woo was startled and looked back at Ru Hiana in surprise. But she was just nodding. Chi-Woo looked around while tilting his head and stood guard. Soon after, Bogle said the altar was completed. At the front, Dalgil took out something from his arms and placed it in the center of the altar. Then he tipped his head back and roared loudly to the sky.
“God Mamiya! I, the descendent of Ulu, Dalbaek’s son, and a buhguhbu warrior—Dalgil is here! Your child is here!”