The Berserker’s Second Playthrough in the Game - Chapter 118



Only Krnovel

Episode 118 Star that pierces the truth (3)

The identity of the middle-aged man was the village chief of this village, Quirn. He sat down in an empty lot on the outskirts of the village and had an interview with Kadeem.

“S-sorry. I really want to take you to my house and treat you properly, but it would be a big deal if the tent were to be restored… … .”

“… … .”

Kadim glanced over the village chief’s shoulder.

Ururur, the residents of Quirn were hurriedly escaping through the broken curtain, and Duncan was among them, helping the elderly and the weak who had difficulty moving. Everyone was withered and covered in filthy soup.

Kadim asks absentmindedly, sweeping his chin.

“Was that tent made by the devil?”

“… … !”

The village chief raised his eyes with tears.

“Huh, how did you know? “Did you encounter the devil on your way there?”

“No, but I guess so.”

Even if he hadn’t seen it, it wasn’t hard to guess. Kadim had superhuman senses of smell and touch to detect magic. If the demon had cast such a large-scale spell, it would have been more surprising if he hadn’t noticed.

But that curtain wasn’t just filled with pure magic. It also had some of the magic mixed in with it, a familiar energy to Khadim.

The energy that the wizards of this era are using to replace the depleted ‘Ancient Mana’, ‘Mana’.

It was a question of why the wizard’s energy was mixed into the devil’s tent. He narrowed his eyes sharply and asked inquiringly.

“What happened here? Did the demon seal off the entire village? And the wizard came too. Why didn’t he help you?”

“Phew, that’s… … Well, that’s… … .”

The village chief paused for a moment and told the story in detail.

Quirn is not adjacent to the Golden Road, so it didn’t suffer much damage when the demons were rampant. However, the problem was after the rampant ended. The demons that had gathered in Soltana were scattered and spread to various parts of the alliance, and one of them reached this village.

The strange visitor was disguised as a sorcerer, wearing a black robe. The people treated him with extreme kindness, as if they were possessed by something. The visitor, in return for his kindness, put up a strong curtain around the entire village, and declared that from now on, no being would dare cross this curtain.

At first, everyone was very happy. They were already somewhat anxious because they had heard rumors of demons and monsters appearing everywhere.

After the visitor left, it didn’t take long for him to realize something was wrong.

‘Oh, village chief… … ? We can’t get out of this either?’

‘… … what?’

The curtain blocked not only devils and monsters, but also people. Truly, ‘no being’ was able to cross the veil without permission.

Only then did the illusion dissipate, and people realized that the visitor was a devil.

It was impossible that they did not try to find a way out. Under the leadership of the village chief, they worked together to beat the tent with their fists, hack it with an axe, hit it with a hammer, looked for gaps, and even dug a tunnel underneath.

However, all those attempts were in vain. The strength of the curtain was ridiculously strong, and it even surrounded the basement, so there wasn’t even a gap. After sweating pointlessly for several days, I concluded that escaping on my own was impossible.

Still, there was still hope. This village is under the jurisdiction of Vestana, the city where the Magic Tower is located. When he saw a traveler passing by outside, he made gestures with his hands and feet and asked for help to convey the situation to the Vestana Council.

As if the efforts were not in vain, the council soon dispatched a real wizard. A ‘Battle Mage’ who is said to be skilled in dealing with high-ranking wizards and demons. When people saw the hem of the wizard’s red robe, they were happy as if he had already escaped.

It didn’t even take a single moment for the joy to fade away.

Wooooow –

‘Hmm… … I cannot destroy this curtain with my own strength.’

‘… … ?’

‘But don’t worry. Anyway, if the devil dies, this too will disappear. I’ll be back soon, so don’t do anything nonsense and wait quietly inside.’

He raised the curtain and cast a spell, and after conveying the message through a telephonic sound, the wizard left the village. People stared at the back in bewilderment, like abandoned dogs.

However, the wizard who said he would return soon did not return for over a week. In the end, the residents sat down at the entrance to the village like before, waiting for help to arrive… …

Kadim stopped talking after hearing that.

“Wait a minute, the wizard cast a spell using a curtain?”

“Yes? Yes… … That’s right.”

“What kind of magic was cast?”

“I don’t know for sure, but I think it was probably some kind of magic that broke something. But he couldn’t break it with his own strength… … .”

“… … .”

Khadim rests his chin and ponders. Then he suddenly got up from his seat and approached the tent. After tapping alternately the parts where mana was felt and the parts that did not, she spoke to the village chief with confidence.

“No, it’s the opposite. The part where the magic effect remains is a little harder. “He must have strengthened the curtain, that guy.”

“… … !”

The village chief’s pupils swelled to the size of walnuts.

He asked several times if that was true, then opened his mouth blankly. Then he asked if the wizard was also a demon, but Kadim shook his head. The energy added to the curtain was definitely ‘mana’, not magic.

“Why, no, why… … The wizard of the Magic Tower did something like that… … . Me, in there… … We’re out of water, we’re out of food… … How much we suffered… … .”

“… … .”

While the village chief was shaking with shock and betrayal, Duncan came over after completing his rescue and exploration activities. He too had a dark expression on his face, just like the village chief. However, when Kadim gave him a quick wink, he quickly regained his senses and told him what he had found out.

“The adults are still fine, except for the fact that they are a bit sleepy… … Some of the children showed seizure-like symptoms, just like the children who were caught in the goblin den before… … . It seems like I was influenced by the devil… … .”

“… … Okay, thank you for your hard work.”

Kadim organized his thoughts based on what he had heard and what he had discovered.

‘The devil erected a curtain to block Quirn and spread demonic energy… … . To get pain and despair from the villagers… … . The Magic Tower heard about Quirn’s situation and dispatched a high-ranking wizard… … . But rather than rescuing the people, the wizard made the tent stronger… … .’

And the devil’s magic that I feel now… … It’s close to the level of just becoming a senior.

There was only one strong conclusion to be drawn from this.

The wizard deliberately helped the devil, feeding the townspeople’s suffering and despair to the devil.

why? By evolving the devil, to obtain a better quality ‘Devil’s Corpse’.

“… … .”

Intermediate rather than low, upper than intermediate… … . Just as he himself wanted a bag of high-quality blood, it was clear that the wizards also wanted a higher-quality corpse. At that time, on the Golden Road, they caught a high-class demon of the magic species and left it alone for a while, and didn’t the magicians rejoice that they got a good corpse after getting caught?

But no matter what, this behavior has gone far beyond the line. You deliberately cooperate with the devil just to get a better corpse… … . Do these bastards think that humans are just food and that devils are just underdeveloped fry?

‘Besides, judging by the fact that he didn’t come back, it looks like that magician was hunted by a backwards-evolved demon… … .’

It was so absurd that I tried to burst out laughing. At that time, the village chief fell down in front of Kadim and bowed his head.

“Mercenary, I am grateful that you saved us, but I know it would be shameless to ask you again… … . But even the magic tower has abandoned us, so now we have nowhere to turn for help… … . If the devil finds out that the veil has been broken, he might come here again… … .”

“… … .”

“Please… … Could you kill that demon? Of course, I’m not asking you out of thin air. We don’t have much, but we’ll try to come up with some compensation, even if it means going into debt… … .”

Kadim crossed his arms and tilted his head.

The destination is just around the corner. This is the time to be careful of falling leaves. Moreover, if it involved a wizard from the Magic Tower, it was best not to get even more involved.

‘But… … .’

If the wizard is already dead… … It doesn’t matter, right?

Rather, it was perfect as an excuse to enter the Magic Tower. Like, I found a wizard’s corpse while hunting demons and came to deliver it. It would be another matter to negotiate with the evil magicians and read their records… … But just having a justification to enter the inside was very meaningful.

Not only that, it would have been a shame to ignore the devil as well.

In the first place, they came here looking for the blood of the devil. The car needed new blood because all of its rotten blood had been incinerated. Even if he was just a mid-level demon, he was quite a virtue, but if he was a high-level demon, there was no question about it.

Above all, this demon is definitely ‘that kind’… … The buff its blood gives will definitely be of great help on the journey ahead.

“I don’t need any money. “I came here to kick that dirty devil in the first place.”

Kadim accepted the request, even refusing a reward. The village chief was so moved that he bowed deeply repeatedly with tears in his eyes, saying that he had never known there was such a merciful person in the world.

But when his forehead was red and swollen, he suddenly asked as if he was worried.

“But, are you really okay with that? Judging from how the magician of that tower couldn’t do it, he must be a very strong demon… … And, are you sure it’s okay for you to go alone, mercenary… … .”

“It won’t be okay.”

“Yes, that’s true… … . Then let’s wait for the other mercenaries to arrive… … .”

“The devil said.”

The village chief opens his eyes wide, doubting his ears.

Kadim gripped the pitch-black axe and twisted his mouth into a bitter grin.

*

Life returned to the bony eyes. I finally escaped the prison-like town. As they freely walked outside and quenched their thirst in the nearby stream, a refreshing sense of liberation bloomed like a wild flower on the faces of the Quirn people.

But not everyone was like that.

Children with their eyes rolled back and their backs arched, and their parents holding them in their arms and trying to calm them down.

Their faces were still filled with the sorrow of the abyss.

“In a room in a narrow alley, in our house with a box of nails, black mold is inside the iris, it hurts, the old man died alone here, trapped behind bars. The skin of his back has melted and spread on the floor… … .”

“What, what are you talking about… … . Please, come to your senses now… … .”

“In the 828th year of the lunar calendar, a total of 184 people died in the Aviracus mine collapse. 21 people died after being hit by a falling rock and their skulls were shattered, 29 people died when their internal organs were crushed and burst between rocks, and 62 people died from dehydration after vomiting gastric juice due to starvation. Dead… … .”

“Sally, baby, stop and drink some water here… … . You said you were thirsty for the past few days… … . Ugh… … .”

Endless, meaningless mutterings flowed from his small lips. No matter how much my mother and father sobbed and comforted me, the seizures did not stop.

At first, some thought it was a fever or something and tried to help them. But now everyone knew. The children were possessed by a demon and became like that. People looked at them with pity, but instead of helping, they quietly left the place.

The future of the children was obvious. They would suffer like that and starve to death in their parents’ arms, or be abandoned by their parents who couldn’t bear it, or be taken away by a wizard who came to clean up the remnants of the devil. Either way, it was certain that they would never have a bright and hopeful ending.

However, all of those predictions were wrong.

Dugu Palace, Dugu Palace… … .

A faint light suddenly flashed across the sky.

As if a comet had passed by, the whole world brightened and then darkened in an instant. Thinking that they had seen something in vain, the villagers looked around absentmindedly and exchanged glances with each other.

But at that moment.

“Uh, uh… … .”

“mom… … ?”

Suddenly, the children who had been possessed by the devil came back to their senses.

“Uh, mom, where am I…” … ? It came out… … ?”

“Mom, I… … am hungry… … . I’m thirsty… … .”

“Uh, huh?”

“Tovik!!”

“Three, Shelly! “Agaaa!!”

Parents hugged their children and shed hot tears. The children were dazed and blinked their eyes in those arms. When the parents, who had barely managed to control their emotions, asked what had happened, one of the children stuttered and answered:

“Mom, I saw… … . In the sky… … The winged horse passed by like the morning star… … . So, everything is okay… … .”

“… … what?”

The parents’ faces were clouded again, as they thought their child was still talking nonsense like before.

However, even after a while, no other abnormalities appeared. Parents could barely put their minds at ease. On the contrary, after someone said that heaven was impressed by the parents’ sincerity, they were busy offering prayers of thanks, convinced that the light was auspicious.

However, one person had a different opinion.

The chief of Quirn came out through the crowd in a huff and asked the child.

“Now, wait a minute, honey! Can you tell me again? What did you see in the sky?”

“In the sky… … a winged, shining horse passed by. When I looked up at it… … suddenly its head sparkled and everything became okay… … .”

The village chief’s face was pale and bloodless.

Then he looked up at the sky in a daze like a prophet foreseeing destruction.

“oh my god.”

It was not a good omen. On the contrary, it was a terrible omen, far more terrible than the devil. He recalled a story that had been passed down from his great-great-grandfather, a story that had been drilled into his ears so that he could never forget it.

Long ago, a decisive moment in the war with the Empire that led to the Alliance’s surrender in three days.

There were exactly the same signs when a city was destroyed overnight.