"Mom, what is that?"
"Hush, don't stare at it! You might go blind."
"Here we go again... damn it..."
Returning to the current capital, I felt a gloomy atmosphere that hadn't been there before.
There was only one cause: the scar Delsia had carved into the sky.
Everyone was looking up at the long, black line visible even through the dim sky, letting out sighs filled with despair.
"In the past, I would’ve just brushed this off, thinking, 'Oh, some mage is playing a prank.'"
Walking down the main street, Linmel looked at the citizens anxiously locking their doors with a bitter expression.
"Ever since the capital was destroyed last time, and after the Fallen Ones went on their rampage, everyone has become sensitive to these kinds of changes. Especially when it comes to the sky."
"I can see that."
I didn't even need to use my Sense to feel the heavy, defeated mood permeating the entire city.
Of course, not everyone was drowning in that emotion. Some knights were rushing somewhere even in the middle of the night. Their movements were efficient, quick, and precise—a sign that they had dealt with such anomalies more than once.
"I'll go report on that 'identity' thing. Your mentor is, um..."
"Don't say she's dead. Just say she's injured and recuperating. That would be better."
"Right! Got it. Where will you be, Zern? H-how about you come to my place?"
"No. With the sky like this, you never know. I'll be resting at the lake behind this area."
"...Okay. I understand..."
I saw off a dispirited Linmel and looked up at the sky once more.
The fact that the scar carved into the body of The Great Void had begun to appear in the sky meant that the entity had begun to fully dominate the heavens of this world.
The only thing I could consider fortunate was—
'It's still faint.'
The line was distinguishable from the night sky only because it wasn't as dark as the night itself.
It was much fainter than the ink I had seen. In other words, there was still time.
Though it was desperate that there didn't seem to be much of it left.
"Still trying to do something?"
Chukya threw a taunt from inside the cup in a languid voice.
"It's too late. It's actually a relief. You can just blame your defeat on being late."
"It's not that it's late; it's that time is running out."
I closed the lid of the cup and headed toward the outskirts of the capital.
I told Linmel I would be resting, but I couldn't truly relax in this situation. From now on, I had to use every second—no, every five seconds—without wasting a moment.
There was someone I had to meet first. Or rather, something that looked like a person.
My Sense blanketed the capital.
"...What is this person doing?"
I found them, but they were in a strange place.
Why are they in a place like this? Tilting my head, I created a puddle on the ground.
As I threw myself into the puddle—a foul stench immediately wafted up.
Holding my nose and grimacing, I looked at the dwarf sleeping comfortably against the wall.
"Hmph, kherk..."
Brimdal was lying there, clutching his sword as if he were in the most comfortable bed in the world. After scanning the surroundings for a moment, I flicked a few water droplets into his wide-open mouth.
"Why are you sleeping in a place like this? Wake up."
"Cough, cough—what, ptooey!"
Brimdal was—far more startled than I had expected.
Before he even realized I was Zern, he turned pale and scanned his surroundings, then narrowed his eyes as he saw me.
"...What is this..."
"It's been a long time, Brimdal. Have you been safe?"
"...."
Despite my warm greeting, Brimdal glared at me intently for a long time.
It was as if he were gauging who I was.
Predicting what would happen next, I sighed and scratched my head.
"If you're going to ask me to explain that I'm not a fake, yes. I will explain. Let me know when you're ready."
"...No."
Brimdal sheathed his sword without letting down his guard.
"There couldn't possibly be more than one kid who can wear a face like they've lived through the entire world. Zern, it is you."
"I'm not a kid anymore."
"—Though you don't seem human, either."
Brimdal threw out a sharp remark.
It seemed a knight of his caliber could immediately notice my changes.
"In my life, I've never heard of or seen anyone who could approach me right under my nose without being detected by my senses. Especially someone who I can't feel even while I'm looking at them with my own eyes."
He approached, grabbed my head roughly, and poked and prodded here and there before letting out an exclamation.
"What is this! I can't even feel you while I'm touching you like this... what on earth have you become?"
"I became a god of another world, I suppose. I am now the concept of the living Deep Sea."
"Hmm, I don't know what you've become, but I can tell you've lost your mind. You seem to have spent the last five years learning some bizarre magic, but do you even know what kind of state this world is in?"
"...Why were you here?"
I cut him off since the explanation would be long, and Brimdal frowned deeply.
"I'm being punished. I tried to foster a little hope for the future, and this is what I get."
"Punished?"
"Yes. They told me to keep watch here to prevent Fallen Ones from entering through the waterway, but it's practically revenge. Ugh, such narrow-minded fools."
"Whatever the punishment is, you need to come with me right now."
"What? What punishment. Wait, now that I think about it, did you come looking for me the moment you arrived? If you were expecting a warm welcome, you're out of luck. There are more than a few people looking for you right now, so go meet them quickly."
"I'd love to have a touching reunion, but I really don't have the time right now. There's probably not even half a year left. I'll do what needs to be done first."
"..."
At my sincere request, Brimdal, who had turned serious, nodded slightly.
"Let's hear it."
"Introduce me to your friends."
"...Friends?"
"Yes. Your dwarf friends. The race that lives by digging in the ground."
"First, let's get two things straight."
Brimdal held up his index and middle fingers, then folded the index finger.
"First, those things aren't my friends; they're my enemies. If I go to them, they'll try to kill me."
"I see. And the second?"
"The second is just an insult. If I had to pick one—it's the question of why you're looking for them."
"I need to dig the ground."
"Dig the ground? Is that all you have to say?"
Brimdal gave a triumphant smile and slammed his sword into the ground.
"I can do that much on my own. Give me an hour. I'll dig a hole big enough to bury this building."
"I can do that in three seconds. When I say I need to dig the ground here, I don't just mean making a hole that's deep and wide."
I shook my head, correcting Brimdal's perception.
"I mean we need a deep underground city where everyone living in this world can breathe, eat, and live normally without any health problems for at least several months. It can't just be a few dozen meters down; it has to be hundreds of meters deeper."
"...What?"
Brimdal tilted his head as he listened to me.
"Do you even know what you're saying right now?"
"Yes. I know. To describe it more accurately—it must be a place where there would be no problems even if all the land in this world were submerged in seawater."
"..."
With a stunned expression, he scratched his head and explained as if he were coaxing a fool.
"Zern. Listen carefully. A project of that scale is something the dwarf race has never done once since they grew their first beards. And above all, even if every single dwarf focused only on that work, it would take 10 years, not one, to barely succeed. It makes no sense."
"I guess dwarves are much more capable than I thought."
I had expected him to say it would be impossible even in 100 years.
Hearing that it was possible within just 10 years gave me even more confidence.
This task had to be entrusted to Brimdal. Seeing that my expression was insanely serious and devoid of even the slightest joke, Brimdal asked back with a weary face.
"I don't know how you heard me, but—"
"I will help."
*Drip, drip...*
As I raised my hand, a few drops of water fell.
Brimdal looked at the floor, wondering what I was doing.
*BOOM!*
"What is this...?"
Seeing the deep hole created by those few drops of water digging into the ground like crazy, he opened his eyes wide and blinked.
"Try throwing a stone."
Flustered, Brimdal paused for a moment, then picked up a pebble from the ground and threw it into the hole.
For a long time, there was no sound. Only after five minutes had passed could I hear the faint sound of a small water droplet, which no one but a superhuman could have heard.
"You..."
Only then did Brimdal look at me in the true sense.
As a dwarf who had spent half his life digging the earth, he couldn't possibly fail to realize that this was a miracle that couldn't be created by simple magic.
"What have you become to return like this?"
To his almost whispered question, I shrugged and replied.
"I told you earlier."
"...Then... are you serious? About making an underground base to house every single person currently alive?"
"Yes. If possible, I'd like to be able to accommodate animals as well. I'll help whenever there's something I can do to assist."
"Ugh..."
Brimdal, having begun to seriously consider the answer to my question, crossed his arms and pondered deeply.
However, the answer that came out was the same.
"I’m sorry, but persuasion is impossible. At least, it won’t work through me."
"No, why?"
"I, ahem... I did a few things when I left that group—things they wouldn't be very happy about—"
Brimdal averted his gaze, trying to change the subject.
"If we’re using an empire as a metaphor, what kind of criminal are you?"
"Hmm, I suppose it would be akin to an attempted regicide."
"..."
It seemed Brimdal was a much bigger troublemaker than I had thought.
'What should I do?'
I racked my brain for a moment. There was the option of coercing the dwarves with my power, but that had a high chance of backfiring.
Above all, this project was something the dwarves needed to feel the necessity of and undertake themselves. If there was even the slightest issue, every human would end up drowned.
The work had to be carried out with mutual understanding as much as possible.
"Well, I can guide you there, so you’ll have to figure out the persuasion part yourself."
Brimdal replied nonchalantly, as if he had done nothing wrong. As I contemplated whether to hit him now that I had the strength to do so, something occurred to me.
"...Then, Brimdal, are you certain you committed an act as significant as attempted regicide?"
"It was the hot-bloodedness of youth. A shameful memory."
"You must be quite the nemesis to the dwarves right now, then?"
"Hmm? Yes. That is correct."
"Are the dwarves clear about their debts and grudges?"
"Of course. We never forget what we must not forget..."
Brimdal nodded as if proud, but then he realized something, froze, and looked at me.
"..."
"..."
Our eyes met, and we both knew what the other was thinking.
"Brimdal. For the sake of the world, just close your eyes and sacrifice yourself."
"No, you crazy bastard—"
Before Brimdal could grab the hilt of his sword, I was a split second faster with a flick of my finger.
The end.
ⓒ Rotten Gimbap#1i525
0 Comments