C468
A wide platform, like a stage, had been prepared in the central plaza. Cale, standing on it, slowly observed the plaza.
‘They’re filled with fear.’
The citizens, the Demon King’s castle officials, even the demons of the Demon King’s army that were on guard. In their eyes, there was fear, though for different reasons.
-Cale. At least, the minimum preparations for the purification are ready.
As Super Rock said.
The purification of Chaos. For this, a sorcerer and a place where a feast is held are needed. To be more precise, a place where the “joyful Chaos” can remain.
-There’s no joy right now.
Yes, there’s no trace of joy to be seen.
-But, a place where joy can remain has been prepared.
He saw the feast tables in front of the multitude of citizens filling the plaza.
‘Preparing everything in one day… impressive.’
The Demon King’s advisor must have suffered greatly to prepare at least what could be called a feast, without excess.
“…….”
Cale turned his head. There was no need to say more.
Kkeudeok.
Seeing his gesture, General Mol went up to the platform with some of his subordinates. And one after another, they removed the cloths covering the stretchers.
“¡Huk!”
Someone held their breath. Starting from those near the platform, more and more people realized what was on the stretchers. Or, to be more precise, they were even more surprised to confirm it was what they suspected.
“¡Nuestra hija—!”
Beginning with a man’s heart-wrenching cry…
“¡Esposo!”
“¡Padre!”
“¡Madre!”
Several demons rose from their seats. They were all family members of the 51 secondary infected.
“¡Santo cielo, it’s true!”
“…T-this… damn it, we’re doomed!”
“What madness! Were the rumors true?”
Most of the citizens, who had only heard rumors, felt shocked and terrified upon seeing the unconscious infected.
“¡Uuk!”
“¡Euk—”
It’s unknown what mechanism was in the cloth, but when they removed it, a nauseating stench filled the air. Part or almost all of their bodies had turned gray, their veins grotesquely swollen, and some seemed to be rotting.
“…I-if their whole body turns gray…”
A demon, remembering something he had heard from someone who was in the market at the time, muttered unconsciously.
“If that explodes, everyone will be infected…”
His face paled with terror.
“What nonsense! Explode!”
The demon who had stood up confronted the demon who had said that behind him.
“That’s not going to happen! That’s impossible!”
The eyes of the man shouting like this were red and bloodshot. Because his daughter was one of the people on the platform.
“A-ah, no, that…”
The demon who had spoken unconsciously and drawn attention didn’t know what to do. The man couldn’t say anything more to the demon. He only looked around, filled with rage.
“No! My daughter isn’t going to die!”
But in reality, his face showed not conviction, but fear and despair. He had heard how the fruit seller had died, and he already suspected how his daughter would die. How terrible a time he had spent at home. He wanted to see his daughter, but they wouldn’t even allow it.
‘There’s a risk of infection.’
Along with those words… at that moment…
“Hey. Aren’t we going to get infected by those infected too? Why have we been brought here?”
At the words whispered by someone, the atmosphere stirred. Another fear appeared in the demons’ eyes.
For the past three days. They hadn’t been able to leave the city and had been confined to their homes. They weren’t allowed to communicate with the outside. Even so, the rumors, the truth, spread. That a terrible infectious disease had appeared in this city, and that the Demon King’s castle had sent troops to blockade the city.
“C-could it be…?”
Astonishment appeared on someone’s face.
“All of us…”
He couldn’t finish the sentence. He couldn’t say it aloud. He looked around hastily.
The demons of the Demon King’s army, heavily cloaked, and their menacing aura.
‘Could it be…?’
Were they planning to kill everyone, beyond blockading the city? To prevent the infectious disease from spreading throughout the Demon Kingdom? He thought it was possible.
“Stop having unnecessary thoughts.”
At that moment, a cold voice was heard. The demon trembled at the sight of the person sitting next to him. A man with a hood. He froze at his cold gaze. But the demon opened his mouth with a serious expression.
“Unnecessary thoughts! This is…”
But the man’s voice was silenced.
“No! It’s not like that! My daughter isn’t going to die!”
“Father!”
“M-mother, I have to go save Mother!”
“Uaaaaaaa—!”
The cries of the families.
“Hey. Shouldn’t we escape?”
“What’s going on?! Why have we been brought here where they are?!”
Voices rose in anxiety and fear. The plaza was filled with chaos.
“Damn it!”
Finally, the demon who suspected they were planning to kill all the citizens stood up. Because he felt he couldn’t stay there any longer.
“Sit down.”
At that moment, Young Master Jimon, with his hood on, who was beside the demon, said:
“What?”
“Soon…”
He paused for a moment. He knows the purification ceremony is about to begin. He wondered why Cale Henituse wasn’t starting the purification ceremony immediately and was silently observing this scene. But he wanted to see this purification ceremony, so he had sat in the plaza.
‘It was a miracle.’
In the village where the Mediators’ Alliance resides, where Aurora is the village head. An Elder named Tedric, the former village head, had spoken to him about Cale’s purification ceremony.
‘As if…’
The Elder, with a nostalgic and kind smile, as if wandering in a happy dream, said:
‘Yes. It was like… peace.’
The former village head continued speaking to Young Master Jimon, who was following Cale to Telia.
‘You will feel the warmth of this world.’
What does that mean?
“What? What’s going to happen soon? You seem to know what’s going on! Tell me!”
Young Master Jimon opened his mouth seeing the demons angry because he wasn’t continuing to speak, and the demons looking at them with piercing gazes.
He was saying that a miracle would come.
He wanted to say that. But…
“!”
He fell silent.
‘What is it?’
A plaza filled with chaos. A sound was heard from within.
Ssaaaaaaaaa—
Waves?
Ssaaaaaaaaa---
No, wind? It’s the sound of the wind blowing from a forest.
‘No. That’s impossible.’
There’s neither sea nor forest here. Then, what sound is this?
‘It was a miracle.’
The voice of the Elder village head returned to Young Master Jimon’s mind. Unconsciously, he turned his head towards where the wind and waves were blowing. The others did the same.
Ssaaaaaaaaa-
Those who were shouting, those who were raising their voices in fear, those who were simply trembling… fell silent for a moment at the so fresh and beautiful sound of nature. And they turned their heads.
Ssaaaaaaaaa-
They could see a gray mist emanating from the red-haired man. The mist wasn’t dark. Rather, it gave a feeling of warmth when looking at it.
To the citizens. To my neighbors. To my family. To my friends.
It was different from the gray that was horribly coloring them. A gray mist that arrived along with the wind that contained refreshing waves and a gentle forest. That mist covered them one after another.
“Ah.”
Young Master Jimon’s eyes widened.
‘Jimon.’
He heard it. He heard such a cherished voice.
‘You don’t need to grow admirably, nor do you need to grow well. Let go of that burden.’
In his childhood. When Jimon suffered from the pressure of having to inherit Moraka Castle…
‘Jimon, just grow as you are.’
A detached voice, but one that contained concern for Jimon.
“Ah—”
Lord Count—
Count Lupeh—
Uncle—
When Jimon heard those words, he felt assured that Count Lupeh wouldn’t abandon him, even if he didn’t inherit Moraka Castle. How happy he was at that time. Because he felt he had found a true family.
‘This is…’
Jimon could feel that a miracle was happening. He could have looked around, but he didn’t. He couldn’t miss this moment where this precious memory was vivid again. He had to savor it a little longer.
‘But Jimon, you’ve grown quite a bit.’
Count Lupeh, who said he should grow as he was, was stroking his head. He seemed to feel the touch of his hands as he listened to his voice. Young Master Jimon felt an emotion he hadn’t felt in recent days, or since Count Lupeh disappeared.
It could be described as calmness, joy, and excitement.
And his tired body was relaxing. It was the solace offered by memories.
‘No.’
This isn’t something offered by memories. Young Master Jimon slowly opened his eyes.
“Ah.”
He exclaimed unconsciously. The place that was filled with a multitude of citizens and filled with confusion and fear. The gray mist enveloping that place. The faces of the demons were visible through the mist.
“Kreuk.”
“Ah, aah—”
With different expressions, some smiled, others cried or closed their eyes. And they were happy. Fear had disappeared. Instead, countless inexplicable emotions appeared on their faces.
Happiness, excitement, joy, shock.
They were so absorbed in savoring those emotions that, like Young Master Jimon, they exclaimed.
Ssaaaaaaaaa-
Gray particles emerged from them one after another. The small, bright particles headed towards the gray mist. The gray mist was enveloped in a bright gray glow, like a gray Milky Way.
Ssaaaaa—
And that gray Milky Way moved. The wind that had brushed past them passed over them again and headed towards the place where the wind had begun. The citizens. The officials sent from the Demon King’s castle. Even the demons of the Demon King’s army. Everyone stared with a dazed expression at the warm gray mist that had enveloped them and the gray glow emanating from them and surrendering to that mist.
And the person to whom that gray Milky Way arrived.
A man who had suddenly risen from his wheelchair. His pale face and labored breathing clearly showed that even standing was difficult for him. A red-haired man with a wide robe, like priestly attire, covering his entire body. The gray mist, or Milky Way, enveloping him.
Ssaaaaa-
When he waved his hand, a large amount of gray mist with a gray glow headed towards the 51 infected. The demons who were closing their eyes and whose bodies were rotting. The Milky Way descended upon them.
The red-haired man, Cale, opened his mouth.
“What has been created will soon disappear.”
The grotesque figures of the demons were no longer visible. They were enveloped in a beautiful gray Milky Way.
“As it was received in the beginning.”
There’s no smell of rot. The scent of flowers. The smell of the delicious food his mother made. The scent of his grandmother’s clothes. The scent of the forest he smelled when he went hiking with his father. Everyone’s favorite scent floated in the air. The hearts of those watching beat strongly. It wasn’t fear, but joy and expectation.
Something is happening. This something that is happening in this plaza awakened expectation.
“As they were born.”
Cale said calmly, with an indifferent expression. The face of General Mol, who was watching him, was stunned. The advisor, who had come to observe the situation, and the Demon King’s servants. Even Siz, the leader of the First Army’s personal guard, who was secretly observing from the roof of a building overlooking the plaza. Everyone simply watched.
It wasn’t flashy. Nor overwhelming.
Simply a gust of wind and a mist that could dissipate at any moment. This scene, created with those two things, seemed extremely sacred and sublime.
In the silence, more intense, moving, and exciting emotions than they had ever experienced before stirred in the plaza. That too was chaos. The chaos of joy. In the midst of it, Cale spoke:
“They will return to their original form.”
The gray Milky Way penetrated the bodies of the infected and Cale’s body.
“Ah—”
“M-mother—”
“Our daughter, our daughter!”
Tuduk. Tuduk. The bodies of the infected rose, and gray drops fell from them. Their grotesque bodies were returning to normal. Warmth enveloped their dying faces.
They were reviving.
Astonishment and joy appeared on the demons’ faces. They held back the cries they wanted to let out. Even those calling out the names of their family members, closed their mouths.
Tuduk. Tuduk.
Like a drizzle. The gray drops silently fell from the infected’s bodies. Everyone waited until that silent scene ended.
Tuk.
The bodies that had risen fell back down one after another onto the stretchers. Their appearance was the same as their family members, neighbors, and friends remembered.
“…….”
“…….”
No one could easily speak. Everything seemed like a dream. It was the first time in their lives that they had experienced something like this.
“Fuu—”
Then, Cale breathed deeply.
-Cale, only half of your left arm has been purified. The Pope’s Chaos is far more terrible than I thought.
From both arms to the clavicle. Only part of his contaminated body had been purified. He hadn’t expected that not everything would be purified. Listening to Super Rock, Cale felt regret, but uttered the final words of the Chaos purification ritual.
“The last stage of this ritual remains.”
Cale still had a pale face, and to others, he seemed to be sweating profusely. But, as he felt less swollen than before…
-I think it’s being digested a little.
At the Glutton’s words, Cale, quite satisfied with his improved state, smiled brightly and calmly said:
“Enjoy the feast and create good memories.”
After saying that, Cale, without hesitation, went down from the platform himself, without sitting in the wheelchair. It seemed his stomach had improved enough.
“Hmm.”
However, it was an illusion. His body swayed. He felt dizzy.
-It hasn’t all been digested yet!
Super Rock urgently said. Cale had walked because it seemed his condition had improved, but he felt unwell from his dizziness. His face hardened. But Cale…
‘I’ll get better if I do it a few more times.’
There were still seeds left, and he had confirmed their location in the Pope’s dream. He would get better by purifying the contamination along with those seeds.
‘Anyway, I’ve confirmed that this is the right direction.’
He found a way to solve the Glutton’s indigestion, so he was satisfied. Cale, as he descended the stairs, said to the person who had grabbed his arm when he swayed:
“Thank you.”
“…….”
General Mol was looking at Cale with an inexplicable expression. And…
“…….”
The Demon King looked at Cale and opened his mouth.
“Go.”
“Yes.”
Siz, the leader of the First Army’s personal guard, hurriedly followed the Demon King who was turning around. But her gaze lingered on Cale for a moment before turning away. The Demon King and Siz. The two demons who had been secretly observing the ritual disappeared.
“…….”
The Demon King hastily moved away from Cale and looked at his hands. His hands trembled slightly. As if he had remembered something he shouldn’t have remembered.
“…….”
On the Demon King’s face, another emotion had replaced boredom. But no one saw it.
Waaaaaaa---
Waaaa----
Soon, cries of joy echoed in the plaza. And the feast, the festival, truly began. It was a place where joyful Chaos resided.
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Damn. I didn't think I'd shed a tear at Jimon thinking of his uncle...
ReplyDeleteThose damn ninjas and their onions 🥲