Chapter 486: Blue’s Circumstances (2)
I felt like I wanted to sit down because my legs became rubbery. It was almost as if they weren’t mine, to begin with.
I instinctively held onto my trembling body without realizing it.
It was because I thought I shouldn’t be looking like that.
Although I stopped at the rare-grade, I was also an adventurer who once made a living out of battles.
I couldn’t allow myself to fall while manager Kim Mi-young was holding herself up despite trembling and looking pale right next to me. I was forced to bite my lips and hold on as well.
‘Damn…’
As I slowly looked ahead, I could see the Guild Master staring at the messenger with no expression. I couldn’t express what seemed to be suppressing myself despite my best efforts.
The image I had seen just before the incident was blunt, but the image he showed at that moment was even more so.
It became difficult to breathe due to the murderous aura his body was emitting, even though he already looked like he was suppressing his anger as much as possible.
It was quiet only for a few seconds, but it felt like a few hours had already passed.
I couldn’t hold it anymore, but I saw the Guild Master’s mouth slowly opening when I was about to vomit.
“Please bring it straight to the conference room.”
“Ah… b-but not all traps have been confirmed yet…”
“I won’t say it twice. And…”
“Yes. Yep.”
“For other party members… No, gather the party members as well, all except for Hayan. We’ll have a meeting in exactly three minutes.”
“Yes. Okay, Guild Master.”
“…”
“…”
The breath that I had been holding so far began to exhume as he immediately went out the door.
“Sigh, sigh…”
“Ugh…”
Manager Kim Mi-young bent down, seemingly suffering from nausea.
However, she began to get up almost immediately.
“Manager Kim Mi-young. D-Do we have to go as well? He didn’t say anything else.”
“I think it would be nice if we participate. I think he couldn’t properly talk because he’s so agitated, but he just told us to join the Blue Official Conference. Regardless, it will help organize the plans in the future to check what the current status of the Vice Guild Master is.”
“I think so as well…”
“Other clues or hints may come out. Perhaps it is for similar reasons that all other party members will be brought together. I think he didn’t call Jung Hayan because she might be shocked. Sigh…”
“Then let’s go. It’s better to get there early and wait…”
“I agree.”
After a short walk, we reached the front of the simple conference room.
As I couldn’t hear anyone inside, I felt like the other party members weren’t in there yet.
They probably got the message by then, so I thought it was time for them to arrive.
I was worried about being kicked out, but when I checked the face of the Guild Master, who remained silent, I was convinced that Kim Mi-young was right.
As I turned my head toward where I heard people coming, I saw Yoo Ahyoung, the blacksmith, and Kim Chang-ryul, the assassin.
I bowed my head, and they greeted me with a nod. It was clear that they realized that the atmosphere wasn’t right for such loud greetings.
Most of all, they didn’t look ready to talk.
They were relatively new to Blue, but their faces were not much different from the Guild Master.
In particular, Yoo Ahyoung had received a lot of help from the Vice Guild Master from recruitment to adaptation.
Among the colleagues that came together, she would’ve been the most shocked.
The same went for Cho Hyejin, the chief of the guild’s secretary sitting next to her. She still had her cold aura, but I could feel that it was different from its usual chill.
As I took the seat at the very end, the door opened again, and several people entered the room.
They were Park Deokgu, whose eyes were red, the mage scholar Hwang Jeong-yeon, and Han Sora, whose complexion was paler than normal. Sun Hee-young seemed to be blanking out, and Elena had apparently just woken up after fainting.
Kim Ye-ri and Ahn Ki-mo also showed up after a while, but they weren’t any different. The room’s ambiance proved to be heavy.
There was a moment of silence. Unusually, it was Sun Hee-young who opened her mouth first.
I felt like she had an edge to her voice that contrasted her usual smile.
‘Is she even the same person?’
Her face was bizarrely twisted. She looked more like an alien than the saint of the abandoned.
“It seems like we’ve all gathered except for that stupid woman. Is she still crying? Incompetent trash.”
“Hey, stop now, Hee-young. I understand you’re upset, but Hayan is sadder than anyone else here. It’s a bit too much to use abusive language at people who just came back alive. It isn’t like you at all.”
“How can I not? I would’ve preferred it if she was the one that got caught. She’s surely having a good time not even attending the meeting. While because of her, someone…”
“Wasn’t it an unavoidable accident? I’m sad too, but Hayan did nothing wrong enough to be accused.”
“Well, I beg to disagree. Did the Honorary Cardinal take that stupid woman for nothing? We wouldn’t be in this position if she were a little more aware of her job. She obviously was so excited to be together with him to the point where she completely forgot what her own mission was. I think everyone agrees to some extent. Lee Kiyoung needed a more proper escort. She’s too stupid.”
“That’s…”
“I didn’t call Hayan on purpose, Hee-young. She’s still mentally unstable, so I just decided she needed a break. You can stop now.”
“But.”
“I know what Hee-young wants to say. After everything’s over, I will definitely impose repercussions. It would be better to calm down a bit. That attitude will not help us in future operations.”
“…”
“…”
“Sigh…”
“…”
“If I made anyone uncomfortable, I apologize. As the Guild Master said, I think I was a little agitated. I’ve also worsened the atmosphere.”
“Hey. Don’t apologize. I understand where the sharpness in your voice is coming from. Will the expedition get accelerated by gathering like this?”
“No. The reclamation of the Federation will begin after a week as scheduled. Depending on the case, it may start a little later.”
“Why are we procrastinating so much?”
“It’s a lot less time than originally scheduled. It’s too ridiculous to say that they need to spend nine days on preliminary research alone.”
“If it really went on like that, I would have headed to the Federation alone, Ki-mo.”
“We are pressing other countries to mobilize earlier as much as we can. You only need to focus on upcoming battles and operations. And the reason why I brought you together today is that a message came from the Federation. It looks like a magic hologram that contains Kiyoung’s appearance… I initially didn’t want to show it to anyone, but then I thought it would be good to share it with you. I was wondering if Kiyoung had hidden a message in it as well.”
“Is that true?”
“Yes, it is.”
“Ah. I-If it’s hyung-nim, then he must have hidden something. It is said that even if you enter the tiger’s den, you can continue living for as long as you are alert. Isn’t he always alert? He must have come up with something.”
“I think so too.”
“Are you sure that the demons sent it? Maybe it’s a message from him to this side. It may be his way of asking for help in a place that nobody can find because he successfully escaped. Regardless, let’s watch the magic hologram.”
I knew how ridiculous it was.
However, with hopeful thoughts, the atmosphere began to dissolve.
Still, it wouldn’t be an exaggeration to think that the situation was too good if the Vice Guild Master really did hide a secret message in it.
As soon as the magic hologram was turned on, the silence embraced the room.
“Ah… ahh…”
Its content was so shocking that Elena, who struggled to keep her consciousness, fainted again.
Everyone seemed to have lost their ability to speak. What the magic hologram was showing was quite simple.
[…]
It was just an unknown chunk of meat sitting on a chair.
“W-what’s… That?”
“…”
There was no way I could explain anything.
Everyone was silent, but we all probably shared the same thoughts.
I could see his chest moving strangely, allowing me to be certain that his life hadn’t ended yet.
However, he had an appearance that could never be considered alive. He seemed to be in a situation where it wouldn’t be strange if he just stopped breathing immediately.
“S-S-Something seems wrong.”
“…”
“Can anyone say something? Is that person sitting in the middle of the hologram hyung-nim?”
“…”
“T-That’s our hyung-nim? I-Is that really him?”
“…”
“It can’t be. Definitely… it’s definitely not him. Those dirty demons must have manipulated it.”
[…]
[Nice to meet you, everyone. I’m Ronove, one of the 27th corps leaders and a faithful apostle of Belial.]
“…”
[I think you must have been surprised. I couldn’t even imagine that I would say hello in this way… In fact, the reason I am here is that Belial, the great ruler of all evils, has a message he wants to convey to you.]
“…”
[He also wants to show how this human being chosen by the trash Benignore is looking like right now. It would be appropriate for you all to think that he wants to show you how insignificant and incompetent the gods you believe in are. He wants to show you how foolish it is to be close to the gods and how useless it is to stand in the way of the great Belial.]
[U-ugh…]
[I’m sure you all are witnessing the state of this stupid man right now. He, considered to be Benignore’s Second Coming, rejected the hand Belial extended. His current situation is the result of that.]
[Aaaaahh… ugh.]
[Look at the one that is suffering for not letting go of the gods until the end. Look into his eyes and see how much pain he’s in. Watch him struggle against death and how he refuses to fall to the end. Haha.]
[Ah, ugh… ah…]
[Struggle, suffer, and die, you foolish, dirty, and incompetent humans.]
“…”
[I want you all to watch as the light of this continent slowly disappears.]
[Realize firsthand how helpless you are.]
[Such trashy humans living on the continent, we are your fear.]
[Your enemy.]
[Your nightmare.]
“…”
“…”
“…”
[That is all.]