Elqueeness [EN]: Chapter 527

527

“You need to be careful. You almost got into big trouble.”

I snapped back to reality at the playful voice. What just happened? I don’t know where Karyuan went, or why Kanos is supporting me. No, in the first place, is this even real? Everything was just a mess.

“You seem a little out of it? It’s okay, it’s okay. You’ll be fine soon. It’s because the spell almost broke.”

“Spell……?”

“That’s quite an elaborate spell. I thought I sent it, but it wasn’t? I didn’t know there was another god besides me who could do this. I’ve never felt this power before, who is it?”

I couldn’t understand what he was saying, so I just blinked blankly. I couldn’t focus on anything because I didn’t have any strength in my body. The blurry feeling in my vision got worse and worse. I felt like I was going to lose consciousness, so I forced my creaking head to work and tried to keep thinking.

What did Kanos just say? Ah, right. He said the spell almost broke. If it’s a spell cast on me, he must be talking about the one Ellyuen cast. The spell that allows me to maintain my body in this world.

As soon as I thought that far, a chill ran down my spine. I tried to pull away without realizing it, but he blocked me faster. A sinister smile reached me as I was trapped in his arms, unable to move. ‘Stay still,’ Kanos warned with his eyes and grabbed my hand, lifting it up. Then, the glove I was wearing disappeared as if it was corroding, revealing the back of my bare hand. It was only natural that the Demon God’s mark engraved on it was revealed as well. Kanos stared down at it with an unreadable expression.

“Elquines from the future…….”

My body stiffened. When I slowly raised my head, Kanos smiled again, realizing I was nervous.

“Who did this adorable thing?”

* * *

I slowly opened my eyes, which I had been tightly closed. I don’t know if it’s just my imagination, but it doesn’t seem much different from before. Or am I wrong? I touched my body and all the sensations were clear. I know it well from experience, but when I’m a soul, I can’t even feel my body being touched. It looked fine no matter how I looked at it. Didn’t Kanos figure out my identity just now? Why don’t I disappear?

“I tweaked it a little. It’s okay in front of me now. I’ve also put up a barrier around us, so there won’t be any eyes watching.”

I was so flustered that I kept touching myself, but I heard a cheerful voice. I forced my dry throat to moisten and raised my head. I saw Kanos smiling the same way as before. There’s no way the illusion hasn’t disappeared by now, so this must really be reality.

“It dissolves if you find out my identity, right? I was refraining from stepping forward because I thought that would happen. I’ve supplemented it as much as I can, but I can’t help it if it’s already gone wrong, so there might be side effects. This isn’t entirely my fault, okay?”

“Ah…….”

“But to be honest, I think there were already some errors from the moment I guessed. You can blame me for this. What can I do, I’m so good that I could tell at a glance.”

I stared blankly at his smiling face and then organized my thoughts. So, it seems like it was dangerous from the start. Well, there’s no way a god as perceptive as Kanos could have been watching me without guessing anything. It was constantly precarious, but it was completely exposed a little while ago and almost dissolved, and Kanos fixed it.

I’m worried about the side effects, but I felt relieved for now. Even if I was going to change the future, I didn’t want the ending where I became a soul and was trapped in this era. Now that I feel a little more relaxed, I looked at Kanos properly. It wasn’t that long ago that it felt like such an old past, but it felt new. The moment I realized his disappearance was still vivid, but seeing his face smiling in front of me as if he were alive felt like a dead person had come back to life.

“Thank you for helping me.”

It was because of him that the spell almost broke, but if it hadn’t been for him, I wouldn’t have been able to fix it. Thanks to him, I was able to talk comfortably, so I thought it was a good thing. Kanos widened his eyes slightly as if he was surprised.

“You’re Elquines, right? No matter how I look at it, this energy is water.”

“Yes, that’s right.”

“You know who I am too?”

“I know. You’re Kanos.”

He’s asking like this, so he doesn’t remember me. It’s obvious, but for some reason my heart felt heavy.

“That’s strange. But why do you look like you’re welcoming me? Usually, if you know me, you don’t show such a cute reaction. There’s no way I wouldn’t have tricked you?”

“……That’s not something to be proud of.”

“Ah, I see. You were tricked, weren’t you?”

I looked at his smiling face with a sullen expression. Yeah, that’s usually the expression. Kanos was happy that a familiar reaction came out. He was still an unpredictable person in this era.

“How did you know me? To be honest, I was so surprised to suddenly have a priest I didn’t know. Did I give you this mark myself?”

“Yes, that’s…….”

“Well, if I didn’t engrave it, there’s no way this would exist. Wow, to think you’d think of engraving my seal on the Spirit King. Even for me, that’s a little crazy, isn’t it? Why did I do this? When did you come from the future? Are we dating?”

“……There’s no way.”

I sighed deeply. It’s hard to keep up with the conversation, and I don’t even know why his thought process is going that way. Usually, wouldn’t you think I was made a subordinate?

“Really? I thought we might be. You’re quite my type.”

“Please respect my taste too…….”

“Ah, I didn’t think of that. But I’m not bad, am I?”

“Shouldn’t you abandon your conscience as a Demon God?”

“Haha, you’re good at 받아치는 [ 받아치는 (bat-a-chi-neun) means ‘to retort’ or ‘to parry’ in Korean], so you must have been really close.”

The eyes with a smile were loosely bent. It was an amicable attitude that anyone could see, but I didn’t let my guard down. In my past experience, no matter how good the atmosphere is, Kanos is someone you shouldn’t be careless with. Rather, the more relaxed you are, the higher the chance of being backstabbed.

“But why were you trying to kill Karyuan?”

“…….”

Yes, just like that. After taking a breath, I looked at him. Kanos was still smiling, but the color of the air had already changed. When I turned my gaze slightly, I saw Karyuan lying quietly a little away. All the wounds were healed, but the torn clothes and bloodstains remained, so I could guess how serious his condition was. He must be upset that I tried to kill a demon who was directly dispatched to resolve the conflict in this world. Even at this time, his relationship with Karyuan was harmonious. My body trembled against my will at the pressing energy. But I wasn’t afraid of him. Kanos looked at me, who was staring calmly, as if he was a little strange.

“I thought you were guessing everything.”

“I don’t know at all?”

“Then why did you tell me not to touch him…….”

“Originally, you shouldn’t interfere with the past carelessly. You can’t guarantee that the situation will get better if you change it. There’s a higher chance that things will get more twisted.”

It seems like it was just a theoretical warning. Even so, he wouldn’t be the type to interfere, so did he come to save me simply because he cared about Karyuan? Or maybe he was curious about the reason why I was trying to kill him.

“But seeing that you tried to kill him even after hearing that warning, he must be causing quite a big accident in the future?”

As I expected. His gaze was full of interest and exploration. Well. Is that something that can be expressed as just an accident? His eyes darkened as I chuckled lowly.

“Is it related to why you came here?”

“……I don’t know where to start.”

“It’s okay. I have a lot of time.”

The air that was pressing down on my body was released the next moment. What, is it already over? I felt relieved at the much easier breathing and looked at Kanos with a slightly dazed feeling. The previous him was lenient to me because he was a friend’s son, so I thought I would suffer more here, but it was unexpected.

“So, what’s the situation?”

Kanos even pulled his knees together and took a seat in front of me. His face, smiling with a bib, seemed determined to listen to the end. It’s not Lukareum, it’s his real form. God’s descent has a time limit, doesn’t it? The future him was on vacation, but I don’t know what he did now. Could he have been on vacation since this time?

I gave up thinking any further and calmly started the story. From the process of my birth to the chaotic situation of Arkadon at that time. The plans that were prepared for the birth of the Evil God and who was the culprit. It was a story that I couldn’t tell anyone since I came here.

“Oh, really? He becomes an Evil God?”

Kanos, who was listening with interest, turned his gaze to Karyuan, who was sleeping again. I thought even he would have a change in expression at this story, but his face was so calm that it was embarrassing.

“He even used the birth of the Spirit King, he was thorough. But I’m glad you managed to stop him somehow.”

“How did you know I stopped him?”

“If you failed, the purpose of coming here from the beginning would have been Karyuan. But it’s not, is it?”

Ah, that’s how it works. Well, I didn’t have a plan to kill Karyuan at first. It was difficult to make a hasty decision because I was conscious of Kanos’s words not to touch anything. But if I hadn’t stopped him from becoming an Evil God, there would have been no choice. As I was agreeing inwardly, I felt an intense gaze. Kanos was watching me with a somehow bright expression. The smile on his lips was unusual.

“Hmm, well, anyway, he disappeared.”

“Why, why?”

“Just because. I’m so grateful that you solved a difficult problem.”

Kanos is the one who solved it. I couldn’t bring myself to say that, so I smiled bitterly. I was reluctant to tell him the fact that he would disappear anyway. In the end, the rest of the story continued without revealing that fact.

After hearing the whole story, he nodded with a relieved face.

“I see. I understand the situation completely. You came to find the soul of a friend who died in that incident. It must have been a difficult decision, but you took a dangerous adventure.”

“I thought it was my duty to come and find him because he died because of me.”

“I understand how you feel, but isn’t it a bit reckless? You have to think about the life that depends on you. If something happens to your body, Arkadon in that era will suffer from drought again. Would you ignore many people to save one person?”

“That’s…….”

“―That’s just what I was trying to say.”

“……Yes?”

“Nyahaha~ Well, what does it matter? If you can’t save the guy you want to save, what’s the point of being an absolute being? It’s better to kick that away.”

It’s not a joke when he, who volunteered to disappear, says this. I forced a smile, but only a weak laugh came out. Fortunately, Kanos didn’t seem to care much about my reaction.

“So, did you get any clues?”

“No. I’m just wandering around. It’s not as easy as I thought.”

“Oh, really?”

The unusually sparkling eyes scanned me intently. What does this mean again? As I fidgeted with the hem of my clothes with an anxious feeling, I heard an unexpected sound.

“Can I stroke your head for a second?”

“Yes? Why, why?”

“I want to touch you because you look like a rabbit.”

“…….”

“You look so fluffy and cute.”

“…….”

That’s right. This person was Kanos. I was relieved that I was nervous about whether he was trying to read my memory to see if there was anything I didn’t say. After sighing, I put my head out to mean he could do whatever he wanted. Kanos was rather surprised, perhaps because he didn’t think I would really allow it. He quickly smiled again, but I felt proud that I had rarely embarrassed him.

Soon, a warm energy touched my head. His touch was so careful that it made me laugh a little.

“Don’t you have too little vigilance, future Elquines? Have you ever thought that you’re usually dull?”

“I do quite often. But what’s the point of being vigilant in front of Kanos.”

“Wow, that made my heart flutter. Usually, you’re vigilant because it’s in front of me, but this reaction is so fresh.”

“That’s not it, I’ve learned a convenient method. Kanos harasses me more if I’m vigilant.”

“Oh, you know me so well. We were really close?”

He smiled happily and stroked my head again. My hair was instantly messed up by the touch that was more violent than before.

“It’s polite to reciprocate kindness with kindness. In that sense, I’ll tell you a story that will cheer you up. I think there will be good news soon.”

“What does that mean?”

“It means don’t be too discouraged. What you’re looking for might be closer than you think.”

“……Does Kanos know where he is?”

“Nyahaha, I wonder?”

There’s no doubt. This is the face of someone who knows no matter who looks at it. My heart was pounding. But no matter how desperately I looked at him, Kanos didn’t budge. He was just planting expectations and didn’t seem to want to tell me. When I thought about it, it wasn’t something to cling to like this, so resignation came quickly.

“It’s okay. It doesn’t matter if I can’t find him anyway.”

“Because you can kill Karyuan and change the past?”

I paused for a moment and slowly nodded. He still had a comfortable smile on his face. The atmosphere was different from when he was pressing me, so I thought I was optimistically looking at the situation without realizing it. My head went cold at the words that followed.

“I’m sorry, but I don’t think that’s going to work.”

“……Kanos.”

My fingertips turned cold as if I was 체한 [체한 (che-han) means ‘to have indigestion’ or ‘to be blocked up’ in Korean, implying a feeling of being stuck or stifled]. Kanos’s nonchalant gaze reached me as my face hardened.

“I know Kanos cares about Karyuan. But you’re not going to condone the birth of an Evil God, are you? We have to stop him now before he starts anything.”

“I understand how you feel, but my judgment hasn’t changed. I told you before, you shouldn’t interfere with the past carelessly.”

“You can interfere and make it better. It’s not just one or two people who get hurt or die because of Karyuan! Kanos too……!”

I barely stopped the words that were about to pour out without realizing it. But Kanos, who was quick to notice, seemed to have already realized what I was trying to say.

“Me too what?”

“…….”

“Aha, that’s how it works?”

I swallowed my breath with a miserable feeling. I could predict the answer that would follow with just his playful smiling face.

“Still, it won’t work.”

“Kanos!”

“You just go back and find your friend’s soul as planned. That’s the best.”

“I don’t want to.”

Kanos’s eyes turned cold at the words I answered right away. It was a cold gaze that made me flinch, but I couldn’t help it even if he hated me. What kind of heart did I make this decision with? I wouldn’t have started if I could be easily persuaded. I couldn’t help it even if I looked like a whining child. Seeing him alive and well in front of me, I couldn’t give up anymore. I felt like I knew what the future Divine Realm, what we had lost. He had to be alive, and he had to continue to live.