Chapter 21
“…Huh? Noah?”
Behind Baek Yi-heon’s voice, bewildered by my curse, the Messenger’s voice overlapped.
[(Messenger) Do you wish to proceed the Guardian Star-Avatar contract with Indra?]
Without missing this crucial opportunity, Indra whispered to me.
Perhaps he had foreseen this situation from the moment I set foot in this camp.
‘Is this the devil’s whisper or a heavenly god’s whisper?’
However, no matter how much they try to deceive, they’re still a righteous heavenly god.
And I’m an evil psychopath.
With cold eyes, I quietly whispered inside:
‘…If I have to make a contract, I’d rather give up.’
[(Messenger) Indra, who was eagerly holding out the contract, is shocked.]
[He desperately cries out that everything will be resolved if you just sign the contract.]
‘I said no. And if we leave things as they are now, won’t a demon descend?’
[(Messenger) Indra flinches.]
‘The Gate Break hasn’t even happened yet, and it hasn’t been a week. If you’re like this already, won’t it be really disadvantageous for the holy war? Don’t you know the first strike wins in war?’
[(Messenger) Indra groans at the barrage of cutting remarks.]
[Indra argues that if you just make a guardian star contract with him, everyone will be happy.]
‘I don’t care if humanity perishes. I can just run away like this, right?’
[(Messenger) Delay occurring. Indra is fidgeting anxiously.]
Meanwhile, people’s heads kept flying, and blood flowing from the altar was soaking the lawn.
I put my hand into the hip pouch full of magic stones I had been collecting.
Then, with a villainous smile, in a secretive tone, I whispered.
‘…You can cast divine power without necessarily making a contract. As long as there’s a ‘medium’.’
Monsters are tools used by evil gods using magic stones as a medium.
Conversely, this means that heavenly gods can also exert power using these magic stones as a medium.
[(Messenger) Indra is startled and trembles at your wolf in sheep’s clothing nature, trying to use an evil god’s core to harness a heavenly god’s power.]
[Indra pleads that borrowing divine power in this way is the ultimate cheat.]
‘So, are you going to let the demon descend? I don’t care either way. Should I leave? I’m leaving?’
[(Messenger) Indra grits his teeth at your wickedness and answers with silence.]
It was an implicit permission.
‘Got it! Water, with a water attribute magic stone…’
Surely, I had encountered a water attribute monster near the reservoir before.
I rummaged through the hip pouch at my waist and found a blue crystal, holding it up.
The magic stone sparkled mysteriously in the moonlight, like rippling water.
[(Messenger) This will be the last time you borrow power through tricks without a contract…]
“Hurry!”
Light flashed.
It felt as if my body had become a pipe with rushing water flowing through it.
The hot sensation that started from the hand holding the magic stone spread through my blood vessels, swirled in my lower abdomen, and escaped back into the magic stone.
Along with this, clear water began to pool at my feet.
The water soon began to overflow in all directions.
The water washed away the bright red blood that had pooled on the ground and flowed down to lower areas with a rumble.
Rustle—.
The blue crystal that was fading away turned to powder and scattered into the air.
Before the magic stone completely disappeared, I quickly pulled out another blue magic stone from my bag.
At the same time, I grabbed a green crystal with my other hand and clenched it tightly.
As the magic stone lost its light, this time huge tree roots sprouted from the ground.
“Aargh—.”
“Gaargh—.”
The tree roots, wriggling like living creatures, trapped the people who were struggling to climb onto the altar.
People trapped inside the roots struggled helplessly, scratching at the bark with their fingernails.
Meanwhile, the pouring water had washed away most of the blood that had soaked the ground.
“Phew……”
Is this enough?
Only then did I catch my breath.
Baek Yi-heon, who had been standing still watching all these miraculous scenes, approached me with a surprised expression.
“Noah. How did this happen?”
“Ah, well……”
How should I explain this? As I was scratching the back of my head in embarrassment, I suddenly raised my head with a question.
“What about you, Baek Yi-heon? Weren’t you supposed to go to Gangnam?”
“Ah.”
This time, Baek Yi-heon hesitated, seemingly unable to answer.
“…I was a bit concerned.”
“Ah, did you sense something was off?”
As a protagonist with keen senses, it’s entirely possible.
But even I, and Sehun with his ‘Evil Detection’ ability, didn’t notice anything at all.
‘Indeed, he’s the survival cheat key.’
“……”
Baek Yi-heon closed his mouth again without answering.
Meanwhile, Sehun, who had calmed down somewhat, looked at the prison scene with a puzzled expression and asked.
“Wow….. Did you awaken too, Noah Noona?”
“Huh? Well, that……”
Looking at the flowing water and tree roots, I realized I couldn’t make excuses anymore.
“Y-yeah. I guess so……”
“Wow! It must be an amazing god! Which god did you contract with?”
“Well, it’s In……”
I hesitated for a moment as I was about to answer honestly.
They might know the name Indra. It’s a famous god after all.
But I had no intention whatsoever of contracting with a heavenly god for the sake of humanity.
“In…trachankuntha, they say?”
“Intra…chan?”
“Yeah. Sehun, you’ve never heard of it either, right? Haha. Yaksha is really famous. I guess some minor god came to me.”
[(Messenger) Indra, the supreme god of the heavens, king of gods, god of gods, clutches his neck at the word ‘minor god’.]
“But you clearly used that magic stone earlier, didn’t you?”
Unlike the child, Baek Yi-heon didn’t buy it so easily.
He looked at me with suspicious eyes and asked.
“Well….. Um. The god I contracted with is such a minor deity. They’re weak. So I guess they need the help of these magic stones.”
[(Messenger) Indra laments that this is the first such humiliation since creation.]
Seemingly satisfied with my excuse-like explanation, Baek Yi-heon nodded.
Then he turned his gaze towards the people struggling, trapped in the tree roots.
“What should we do with them?”
“I’m not sure.”
I said in an indifferent tone.
We’ve saved their lives, what more do we need to do?
Honestly, I just wanted to leave them be and get away from this horrible place as soon as possible.
“They seem to be under some kind of hypnosis. Well, won’t it wear off on its own if we leave them like this?”
At my half-hearted answer, Baek Yi-heon slightly furrowed his brow, then approached a nearby man.
“Aaargh……”
“Are you alright?”
As if he could have a conversation in that state. What a sweet potato…
As I was inwardly sighing at the familiar taste of sweet potato, that’s when it happened.
“My, this won’t do.”
A clear voice came from somewhere.
Baek Yi-heon whirled around.
I, too, looked with surprised eyes at the woman who suddenly appeared on the altar.
‘What? Where did she come from all of a sudden?’
It was a woman wearing a tight-fitting slit dress.
Just like what John was wearing, a spotless, pure white dress.
Standing on the blood-stained altar, that pure white color stood out even more.
“Who are you!”
Baek Yi-heon shouted roughly, shielding me and Sehun.
“Hmm. Strange, why aren’t you affected by the drug… Oh my, you.”
The woman examining us from the altar widened her eyes as they met mine.
“You’re that man’s daughter, aren’t you?”
“…What?”
✦
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