Elqueeness [EN]: Chapter 501

I barely remembered anything that happened afterward. While I was half out of it, everything else proceeded on its own, and when I came to my senses, I was already back at the lodging. The only things I could recall were having a conversation with Davian and hearing about what he had gone through, and that the infiltration of the Demon God’s Temple was scheduled for four days later.

…That means I only have four days left to live. It was nice that I didn’t have to go to work at the Special Task Force starting tomorrow, but time was too short. Now that things have come to this, I decided to explore ways to resolve this situation smoothly.

First, ask Ellyuen for help.

“I have a fake mark, so I might die if I go to the Demon God’s Temple. What should I do?”

“You can erase the mark.”

“It’s engraved with magic, so it can’t be erased.”

“I’ll take a look. Show me your hand.”

And then I’ll get caught for having a real mark and be ruined. Hmm, that won’t work. Pass.

Next, borrow a cream from Trowell to cover the mark.

“If I cover the mark with this, will it be invisible even to the gods?”

“Are you asking if a shallow trick that only fools the eyes will work on a god?”

…As expected, it fails spectacularly from the start. Pass on this too.

Third, ask Ifrit for a good idea.

“Sometimes, confessing is the best solution. Just go in with Elquines. And as soon as you enter, beg for forgiveness. Then, considering the dignity of the Spirit King, he won’t kill you.”

No need to even consider it, just pass.

“…I’m doomed.”

I leaned back on the bench and let out a hollow sigh. The sky I was looking at from the plaza felt particularly refreshing today, which made my heart feel even more complicated. The problem is that the mark of the god is real in the first place. I wasn’t confident that I wouldn’t get caught no matter what I did. There was one last method left, but I didn’t feel like even considering it because I didn’t want to.

‘No matter what, I can’t ask Minerva for help.’

If it were the Wind King’s unique ability, the Veil of Concealment, it could perfectly hide the mark of the god. But no matter how good the method is, it’s just a pipe dream if I can’t try it. I can abandon my shame, but I can’t turn a blind eye to my conscience. Only helpless sighs poured out again and again.

No, let’s not think too negatively. Maybe nothing will happen. Perhaps it will be fine as long as I don’t enter the prayer room inside the Demon God’s Temple. Maybe, unexpectedly, Kanos won’t recognize my true identity. Maybe he’ll just be amazed and move on, saying that I’m the first case of a spirit master becoming a priest. He might not even care that he doesn’t remember giving me the mark. There are so many priests, he might not remember one or two of them.

‘…But that Kanos would never do that.’

Why did I even have such vain expectations? The faint hope that had been rising plummeted back to the ground. As expected, the best policy was to not encounter him.

Fortunately, the situation that Sibelius told me about hasn’t all happened yet. That means I somehow avoided this crisis. What on earth did I do? Did I really abandon my shame and conscience and go to Minerva? Or did Lapis just decide to look for another place and run away from the Empire? I wish someone would tell me what to do. It’s not like which came first, the chicken or the egg. Why do I have to deduce what I did?

Kugung!

It was around then that the sky rumbled as if vibrating. Startled, I straightened my body and felt a commotion in the distance. The sky, which had been blue just a moment ago, was now dark and gloomy. Another rift must have formed. Come to think of it, it was exactly my work hours as usual. I thought things would calm down after yesterday, but it seems it was just a day of peace.

‘Should I go help?’

I stopped myself from reflexively heading to the scene. First of all, it was known that I had been reassigned to another mission starting today. If I was caught spending time here idly, it could be problematic in many ways.

Reluctantly, I turned my body in the opposite direction. I walked as quickly as possible and entered the alley, but soon people who had fled from the commotion rushed around me.

“Another monster?”

“I thought everything was over because yesterday passed without incident.”

“How long do we have to live like this?”

The faces of the murmuring people were filled with anxiety and confusion. In modern terms, it was a situation no different from having disasters every day. No matter how quickly the Special Task Force dealt with it, no one would welcome such a daily life. It was purely by chance that I spotted a figure among them.

‘…Huh?’

For a moment, I was so flustered that I rubbed my eyes without realizing it. A person wearing a hood pulled down deeply was cautiously looking around in the distance. Although their face was covered, I recognized who it was at a glance because of their familiar attire. It was Ayira. The person who had been chased by those likely to be merfolk, perhaps a Demon God’s priest.

It was the first time I had seen him again since the day I narrowly missed him. After a long time, he seemed to be looking for something again today. While I was carefully following him without being noticed, I reached a secluded place with no people. I wondered how far he was going, but soon I saw someone running from the opposite side. Perhaps a colleague, Ayira quickly approached the person who was panting.

“Did you find it, Miel?”

“No, I think I missed it again.”

“Damn it, how can it be so frequent every time…”

Ayira bit his lip and sighed lowly. Hearing his voice, I became more certain that it was him. In addition, it seems he is indeed looking for something. It would be difficult to see it as a simple coincidence that I encountered him both times when rifts occurred. Anyway, I had to make sure not to miss him this time. Maybe I could resolve this situation without entering the Demon God’s Temple.

“El? What are you doing here?”

“……!”

But just as I was about to take a step, someone spoke to me from behind. As I had been careful not to make a sound, the sudden voice rang out more clearly. Surprised, Ayira quickly took something out of his pocket and threw it on the ground. Then, a blue magic circle appeared, and the figures of the two people were instantly swallowed into the light.

“Ah, wait a minute!”

I shouted in a fluster, but the figures of the two people had already disappeared without a trace. Is it a space 이동 [teleportation] magic device? Then I can’t send a spirit to chase them. As I was listlessly scanning the empty air, a hesitant voice continued.

“I’m sorry. I was so glad to meet you by chance that I spoke to you… Did I interfere with your work?”

You did interfere. A really painful interference. With a sigh, I turned around and saw familiar faces standing there with embarrassed expressions. It was Simon and Nev, whom I hadn’t seen in a while.

“It’s okay. More than that, it’s been a while.”

“Yeah, it’s been a long time. I heard that a rift had formed, so I thought you might be nearby, but I didn’t expect to actually meet you. Were you on a special task force mission?”

“Well, something like that. What about you two?”

“We were just passing by.”

“I see.”

*Calculate the probability of people coincidentally passing by a deserted road, finding me there, and then speaking to me at that exact moment (10 points).*

A strange, subjective question popped into my head. Come to think of it, wasn’t it a similar situation when I’d missed them before? These were the same people I ran into back then. I smiled faintly, and they smiled back. It felt like the first time I was so conscious of the hood I always wore.

“How did you recognize me?”

“Huh? Oh, actually, I didn’t. But Nev said it looked like you…”

I see, Nev, huh. I turned my gaze to him, and he looked flustered. Come to think of it, wasn’t he the one I bumped into before? It felt so natural back then that I didn’t even have time to feel any strangeness. Of course, even if I *had* felt it, I wouldn’t have suspected him. They were the founding members of the guild, after all. He had a gentle and calm personality, so I especially felt comfortable around him. That’s why I was even more dumbfounded. Yeah, I do get backstabbed often. But this is just too much, isn’t it?

“Who are you?”

Both of them flinched simultaneously.

“El, so we *were* interfering with something important after all. I’m sorry. We just thought you resembled him, but we never expected things to turn out like this. I’m really sorry.”

Nev, with a troubled expression, repeatedly apologized. His gentle demeanor, which made it easy to gain favor, exuded a pitiful atmosphere just by slightly frowning. But now that I was aware of it, I couldn’t see that appearance as favorably as before anymore.

“It’s not like there’s no way to confirm it.”

At that moment, Nev flinched and quickly stepped back. The tip of my sword, aimed at his pale face, stopped just short of him. *Gulp*, Nev swallowed hard, his throat stiff.

“E, El! What are you doing?”

Simon, realizing the situation belatedly, shouted in shock. My gaze met his confused one, but I didn’t lower the sword aimed at Nev.

“You dodged it. Where did the person who almost died because they couldn’t dodge a monster’s claw go?”

At those words, Simon looked at Nev with a bewildered expression. Nev was the least skilled among the three *dōki* [同期, peers/同期, people who joined at the same time]. He started his hunter life late, and he wasn’t the type to train diligently, so he always remained mediocre. There was no way he could have dodged an attack that Simon didn’t even notice.

“Nev, you…”

Simon groaned, and Nev sighed with a troubled expression. But judging that he couldn’t avoid it any longer, a smile reappeared on his face as he looked at me again.

“Amazing. I didn’t think you’d really attack. If you were just pretending, I would have deliberately let myself get cut, but I reflexively dodged without realizing it. Is this okay? What if I wasn’t him?”

“There’s no way you’re not him. It’s not something to brag about, but my gut feeling has never been wrong about this kind of thing.”

“That’s definitely something to brag about. You’re the first person I’ve seen realize it this quickly. Usually, no matter how suspicious it is, people tend to dismiss it as me being too sensitive.”

“I have a friend who likes these kinds of pranks. Thanks to him, I’ve grown into someone who suspects things as soon as they seem suspicious.”

“Haha, you have a commendable teacher. I guess I’m happy to see that, since I also have such a teacher?”

Contrary to his light tone, Nev’s eyes were shining dangerously. I quickly turned my head to avoid the rapidly approaching energy and created some distance. Before I knew it, he was holding a sword in his hand. The sword, with its dark ink color from the hilt to the blade, was overflowing with a familiar energy. It was magical energy.

‘A magic sword.’

Moreover, it was a considerably strong magic sword. An ordinary person couldn’t even touch a sword imbued with such dense magical energy. At least a magic swordsman was needed. I thought he might be related since he seemed to be interfering with approaching Ira, but seeing the clear evidence, another thought crossed my mind. Come to think of it, the first time I experienced a rift was when I was in the Epen Kingdom. Nev was also among the group that was attacked by monsters at that time. He was before Ira, which meant…

“…Could it be that you were the one creating the rifts?”

A smile appeared on Nev’s face as he paused. I felt his body blurring for a moment.

“Sicueal!”

The blue water wolf pounced on him. The spiraling stream of water quickly wrapped around Nev’s body, binding him. But just before he was completely swallowed, the sword he possessed split the stream of water. *Crackle, boom!* Black electricity sparked, and streams of water splattered in all directions.

My face contorted involuntarily from the heart-wrenching shock. At the same time as Sicueal landed lightly beside me after retreating, Nev, freed from the stream of water, also landed on the ground. He looked considerably unscathed for having blocked an attack from a high-level spirit. But he wasn’t exactly the same as before.

“No way…”

Simon, who had been horrified and stepped back, swallowed a groan with a stiff face. I wasn’t feeling relaxed either. Nev’s black eyes had turned red.

“Ah, I really can’t hide it anymore.”

Muttering playfully, Nev swept his hand through his hair. Then, his hair flipped back and fell to the ground with a thud. It was shocking enough that the hair I had seen until now was a wig, but what appeared in place of the brown hair was jet-black hair.

Black hair and red eyes. It wasn’t uncommon, but it was also a symbol of a race that everyone knew. As if to prove it, the magical energy that had only been felt from the sword was now emanating from his entire body.

‘He was a demon.’

But that wasn’t the end of it. Nev, smiling brightly, began to peel off his facial skin this time. It seemed he had covered his features with a mask. I honestly felt a bit taken aback this time because I hadn’t even considered that his face would be fake. At the same time, an ominous feeling washed over me. I had been somewhat relieved that his face was different, but if it was like this, the possibility of meeting someone I knew became too high.

‘Could it really be……’

*Not him, right?*

Soon, the white skin fell off, and his real appearance was revealed. I paused for a moment, staring at the face that was now clearly visible. My mind went blank, as if it were flashing white, and I couldn’t think of anything.

It wasn’t the person I had guessed. But perhaps it would have been better if my guess had been correct. Before I knew it, I had stepped back. I could clearly feel my lips trembling.

“Why…”

I wish I had just seen it wrong. But no matter how much I blinked, the truth couldn’t be erased. The face right in front of me was also a familiar one. Although the impression was completely different, and he looked much younger than I remembered.

“Now that it’s come to this, shall we formally introduce ourselves?”

The man, who had transformed into a completely different appearance before my eyes, smiled brightly. His long, jet-black hair swayed softly over his shoulders.

“I’m Karian.”