The Magician’s Memorial - Chapter 33



Only Krnovel

Episode 33

“I guess I have to kill him.”

It was what Geron said as he spread his tail. The four tails stretched straight up toward the sky like spread fingers. Looking at the thorns densely packed at the end of the tail, I swallowed my saliva.

If you get caught, you will die without even being able to scream.

“Quil, what did I tell you? I said I’d stab those bastards in the back of the head?”

Drich took a deep breath and took a stance. He said he was going to fight, but he was in good spirits.

It was the time when Quilbian was preparing while thinking of useful magic in his head.

“Stop it!”

A loud scream came through. Lil, who had shouted, blocked Geron’s path.

“Didn’t I tell you that it shouldn’t be like that?”

“They are blind animals. They don’t even know what’s in front of them and just bite and see. We shouldn’t let them live.”

“Those kids are scared too. You know what they’ve seen, what hell they’ve experienced.”

It was an untimely quarrel.

Quilbian slightly relaxed his body. Judging by the way he was turning, it didn’t seem like a fight was going to break out.

“Drich.”

However, Drich was looking at the back of Lil’s head with sharp eyes, as if he had other thoughts. It seemed as if he would deal with the goblin and Lil himself if he got the chance.

It could be due to heightened emotions.

He gently touched his shoulder, telling him to calm down. Drich put the Nak away with a bitter smile. The black hammer broke into small pieces and disappeared.

Geron’s tails, which had resembled a snake’s head just before an attack, also hung down toward the ground.

Lil turned around with a deep sigh.

“I don’t think we trust each other.”

“You were the first to bring up credit.”

“You’re hiding something because you don’t trust me. Do you think you guys are normal when you just pull out your weapons?”

At those words, Drich raised his voice.

“You’re talking so comfortably with a man-eating monster right next to you.”

“Geron is different. It’s because you were different that you were able to come here safely. Not just me, but the kids inside.”

Drich clicked his tongue, finding it difficult to refute.

“I see. As you said, it was thanks to that goblin that I was able to come here safely. However, I can’t believe everything just because of that. I can’t tell yet whether it helped or lured me.”

“This is how I feel when I get cursed at even after helping someone. It makes me really miserable.”

Reel’s tightly shut lips trembled.

“Okay. There’s no reason to hold on to you, so leave quickly. But don’t let anyone catch you. If you do, there’s a chance we’ll be exposed. If you do get caught, just keep your mouth shut and die. Don’t talk about us for no reason.”

Shut your mouth and die.

When she said those words, Lil’s eyes were alive, unlike when she had seen them inside the house. Her words were sincere.

I heard words that were almost like curses, but I felt relieved. Because the words that said I didn’t want to get caught seemed close to the truth.

“Drich, let’s go.”

“Should we just leave it alone?”

“It’s true that you helped me once. And if we fight now, there’s more to it than just the goblins… … .”

Quilbian looked at Lille. He looked like he was going to rush in with a broom in his hand if a fight broke out.

“Well, if that’s what you think.”

Drich turned around. Quilbian looked at Reel and said.

“Still, be careful. No matter what happens, the person next to you isn’t a human being.”

“You don’t know because you’re young. The most cruel thing a human can do is to another human. Animals don’t kill their own kind for fun.”

After looking into the frosty eyes of the reel for a while, he nodded.

“I agree that people are beggars. Well, let’s all live well anyway.”

I exchanged glances with Geron.

There seemed to be no hostility. The moment Lil told him to stop, the eerie atmosphere disappeared.

Lil and Geron. I tried to guess what kind of relationship they had, but I gave up.

A goblin friendly to humans.

If we admit that such a group exists, future battles will become more complicated.

Simple is good, yeah, that’s true.

Still, I couldn’t help but feel uneasy. The words Altera left behind kept ringing in my ears.

A being with desires, similar to humans.

Quilbian shook his head to clear his mind of distracting thoughts.

He made a seal with his left hand and folded the talisman. Blue flames rose from his palm.

Sitpin Hwang-hyung’s drink was ‘a cold flame’.

I followed Drich with the flames leading the way.

“I slept well.”

How long did I walk through the darkness?

Drich, who had been walking beside him, stopped.

“what’s the matter?”

“You can stop acting.”

“What are you talking about? Acting?”

Drich’s eyes grew bleary.

“What, you really thought you’d leave them alone? You weren’t just acting to fool them?”

A long sigh followed, as if it was absurd.

“Quil, you naive brat. You may have a thick mouth, but you’re really innocent on the inside.”

“I don’t know what being gentle means, but if you’re going to pick a fight, do it later. I need to save my energy.”

“That’s not it.”

Drich motioned for me to sit down.

“You must have noticed to some extent that the kids in that house are acting strangely.”

“You say that doesn’t make sense?”

“Look carefully.”

Drich held up four fingers.

“I clearly said four years. That woman, Lil, I mean. She said with her own mouth that she escaped four years ago, right?”

“That’s right.”

“Okay. Let’s say that at that time, only Lil escaped. Let’s say that Geron helped because he was a goblin friendly to humans, just like that woman said.”

The moment I heard that, I realized what Drich was suspicious of.

“The number of kids gathered here is strange?”

“Yes. If you’ve been helping them escape for four years, there should be dozens, not seven.”

“It’s possible that they were unable to escape due to unfavorable circumstances, and were brought in recently.”

“That may be true. But I saw it. You probably didn’t see it because you were talking to that woman… … .”

Drich’s voice echoed through the floor.

“There were exactly eight cups in the restaurant.”

“Because there are eight of them. No, seven humans and one goblin.”

“Yes, that’s a perfect number. But those porcelain cups were so dirty. They looked old.”

Old cups.

Quilbian’s expression was crumpled.

“We didn’t prepare cups according to the number of children we brought… … .”

“There were kids who used that cup in the past too. How many of them were in that house? And where are they now?”

A disgusting picture was drawn.

“No way. That can’t be true. Even if that’s true, Lil, that older sister is a human.”

“Yes, it’s a human. That’s why I can be more certain. That woman said it too. The cruelest thing to a human is a human. That woman was telling the truth.”

Old dishes and 4 years.

According to Drich’s reasoning, the children who arrived here during those four years… … .

“She’s a crazy woman. She helped goblins eat humans.”

“wait for a sec.”

Quillian calmed down his excitement.

“What you say may be true. But it’s a bit sloppy. Why does Geron have to do such an uncomfortable thing? He can just eat them in the dormitory. And if they’re the ones you brought in as food, why do you take care of them instead of just eating them? You saw it too.”

Quilbian thought of the children who approached Geron without hesitation.

We had built up a considerable amount of trust. We couldn’t have become close like that in a day or two.

Befriend and care for your food?

For what?

“Yeah. If you look into it in detail, there’s something strange. But you know, is this place we’re in a place that operates on that kind of logic? To be frank!”

Drich raised his voice, then glanced around and opened his mouth calmly.

“If you are ready for legal action?”

“Law?”

“You said that goblins can become stronger by consuming Narcs. What if they don’t eat the children right away and instead take them with them in preparation for raising Narcs?”

If you add one family to another, there is no end to it.

In the end, it came down to whether or not you could trust Lil and Geron.

“Quil, remember. What they did to us.”

Drich’s eyes grew fierce.

I think of the stray dogs that roam the streets. They are ferocious dogs that will rush in and bite the back of your neck at the first sign of an opening.

“Are you going to kill me?”

“Quil, Quill! This is not a playground. If we don’t kill, we will die. No, it doesn’t matter if my prediction is wrong. The moment the seed of doubt sprouts, what we must do is decided.”

Drich’s outstretched finger pointed into the darkness.

“Eliminate the variable. That’s the best option.”

“Let’s kill someone.”

“He’s not human. He’s worse than human. He joined hands with that crazy monster. Can you call him human?”

“If I say no, will you listen to me?”

Drich let out a heavy breath.

“I’ll go alone, right? I told you. I was betrayed by my father. I can’t even trust my bloodline, and I’m leaving behind a monster on the back of my head? I’d rather fight and die. Then I won’t have any regrets.”

It was a determined expression. It wasn’t a face that would listen even if you told it not to.

Geron and Lil.

Quillbian shook his head.

“If possible, only Geron.”

“I guarantee you that woman will come running at us with a weapon. That woman has a really sharp eye for goblins.”

“Do you even like it?”

“It’s too light to say I like you. That’s love. The intense love between a man and a woman… .”

Quilbian raised his hand to stop Drich.

An unpleasant sensation came over me. It was a feeling that was hard to describe.

Quilbian knew what this meant. He turned his head. In the direction of the shabby house.

“Quil?”

“It’s coming.”

He lowered his posture. Drich also kept his mouth shut and opened his eyes slightly.

Quilbian sent a cool flame, made with magic, into the sky. The flame rose up and briefly illuminated the surroundings before disappearing.

It was only a moment, but it was enough.

Geron appeared where the light had swept through.

“I knew this would happen.”

Drich was smiling. He had a look of relief on his face.

At the same time, the surroundings became brighter.

One of Geron’s tails emitted a blue light.

The surroundings were dyed blue.

Quilbian checked the reel that was standing right behind Geron. He was holding a short scythe, and his stance with the weapon looked right.

“You should have just left it. Then this wouldn’t have happened.”

Lil said.

“You bitch. You like hanging out with monsters? You’re a piece of shit. There are boundaries that people should keep. You’re disgusting, you’re disgusting.”

Drich opened his hands, groaning. He felt Nak moving.

Immediately afterwards, a black hammer was placed in Drihi’s hand.

“You don’t know anything. What efforts we’ve made, what kind of feelings we had to get here.”

“Of course I don’t know! I don’t eat people. Quill, right?”

Quilbian touched the mokdo and took the talisman in his hand.

My heart started beating fast.

This is a battle with a monster, not a fight with fists. I’ve practiced countless magic tricks that might help, but there’s definitely a difference between a corner of a room and a real fight.

There is only one outcome to a mistake.

Quilbian prepared the denouement.

I didn’t come here to die.

“Lil… … Sister. Let me ask you one thing. When Geron saved you four years ago, did you escape alone?”

Lil answered with a stern face.

“no.”

(Continued in next episode)