Episode 61: Ghost Estate. A New Beginning for Three People (1)
“Sorry that we have to camp even after arriving.”
After running day and night for a full seven days, Muriel and her party finally arrived at the Ghost Estate. However, they couldn’t enter the territory. To prevent the demons from escaping, makeshift fortresses were erected along the boundaries of the territory, and they were filled with demons. Muriel had hoped that since it was an abandoned place, the demons would have scattered by now, but she was mistaken. The hastily piled-up earth fortress did its job surprisingly well, and there seemed to be no demons outside it.
Therefore, the Ghost estate was still full of resentment of the people who had turned into demons during the disaster. Although demons would disappear when their predetermined lifespan ended, not many seemed to have died a natural death. The disaster wasn’t that old in the first place. The Ghost Estate used to be a place where rare minerals were found and its economy was pretty active before it was abandoned, so the number of people who had turned into demons was enormous.
Instead of forcing their way into the fortress, Muriel and her companions decided to continue camping in the nearby forest.
“What are you talking about? Thanks to you, we arrived here safely, ate and slept safely.”
Just as August had boasted, no one stopped their carriage. They had passed through numerous checkpoints while crossing the kingdom, but with August’s words that he was with an ‘important guest’ they were able to pass without being searched.
Moreover, August had taken care of getting their meals, dealing with monsters and demons, and even taking turns keeping watch at night. If there was anyone who had the right to complain, it was August, who was constantly on the move.
“Take some rest today, August. I’ll handle all the demons and monsters today.”
“Hmm… I’ll be more at ease tonight from today on, but I don’t plan on borrowing Muriel’s help…”
August seemed concerned about Muriel’s extremely terrible magic skills. When Muriel offered her assistance or use talisman, which could ward off the demon’s curse, August mused and cautioned her. She couldn’t say that she was borrowing the power of Ur, so Muriel was left to relax.
“I’m going to catch a monster. In these deep woods, there may be demons here, so it would be great if a wolf-monster comes out.”
“…Are we going to… eat them?”
Since she couldn’t taste anything, as long as she could receive nutrients, Muriel wasn’t in a position to be picky about food. However, most monsters were surrounded by a chilling, slimy substance that made one creeped out just by looking at them. Muriel, who felt nauseous at the mere thought of putting that black mass in her mouth, asked with a disgusted expression.
“No… Haha. Demons don’t appear where there are monsters. We use monsters for demon control. It’s a method often used by knights when they camp. It’s a bit dangerous, but demons can be subdued if handled properly.”
“…Monsters drive away demons? I’ve never heard of that before.”
“It’s a fairly well-known story. That’s why the entire kingdom isn’t overrun by demons, even when there are only three guardians. It’s quite commonly used for demon extermination among the people.”
“Then why is this place abandoned? They could have filled the territory with monsters to drive the demons away, no?”
“Well, the thing is, monsters are also considered ominous. Even though they can chase away demons, they can’t completely eradicate them…”
“Ah, so the nobles of this estate abandoned this place because they didn’t want to live with monsters. Because they’re ominous and disgusting.”
What noble, irresponsible people.
August was embarrassed by Muriel’s scathing sneer. However, instead of saying he couldn’t help it, he looked up at the ruined castle with a bitter expression. Rumor had it that August had pleaded for the demon-cleansing operation in this place several times, but Sharan had refused to accept until the end.
“I have a good idea.”
“I wonder why I suddenly feel nervous…”
“We’ll turn this place into the kingdom’s ultimate demon fortress.”
August licked his lips with a strained expression. He seemed to have guessed what Muriel’s good idea was.
“That’s right. It’s to build a fortress wall filled with monsters to drive out all the demons.”
⚜ ⚜ ⚜
Muriel and Ondal followed August on the monster hunt. August led the way confidently, but never surpassed a range where he could not see the two. Despite having a deer slung over his shoulder, which would serve as their dinner, he showed no signs of exhaustion. Even though he was a natural-born knight, he hadn’t properly rested for a few days, yet his movements were as agile as ever.
“Shh…”
August signaled to stop. Carefully placing the deer down and gripping his weapon, it seemed like he had spotted the wolf-monster they had been searching for. To witness the effect of driving out the demon, they needed to capture it alive, which seemed like a more challenging task than simply slaying it in one strike.
Muriel quickly sent a signal saying, ‘I’ll go and help,’ but August replied, freaked out, ‘There. Stay right there.’
‘You. Me. Two of us. Fight better.’
‘You. Sit. There. Stay. Please.’
At August’s earnest call, Muriel eventually gave in and sank down.
In truth, she knew her following August wouldn’t be much help, and Muriel felt more comfortable protecting Ondal here.
“Muriel… Protect pacio now. He won’t move anymore.”
Ondal, sitting beside Muriel, spoke sadly as he hugged his knees.
He felt guilty for using Sharan’s eyes with her help after knowing that using a lot of her pacio exhausted Muriel. Although Muriel explained that she had an infinite supply of pacio, Ondal’s response remained the same.
“It’s frustrating when you’re in the dark.”
“…Not really.”
“It’s still daytime, so there’s no moon here. Just me. So you can look at me a lot.”
“…Th-that’s why I said I’ll stay alone on the carriage…”
Ondal forcefully pushed his face into his knees.
Every time he did, his hair, cut up to his waist for easy movement, swayed.
Originally, Ondal’s hair was so long that it dragged on the ground, but it was difficult to manage and hindered his movements while searching for food in the forest. So August cut his hair for him. Ondal didn’t mind shaving it all off, but Muriel, who could never accept that, begged and pleaded until they compromised and left it at waist length.
“You heard what August said, right? We can’t take any actions by ourselves because we don’t know when the demons will appear. Even if he looks easy-going, August is strict, so if you keep saying things like that, you’ll get scolded.”
Muriel said playfully, thinking about wanting to braid Ondal’s beautiful hair.
“I’m… just baggage. I’m no use.”
“Ondal. Sharan Kasal exists.”
It was a joke meant to reconcile, but Ondal’s gloomy expression did not relent.
He didn’t understand? Muriel considered explaining in detail but decided to keep her mouth shut, reminding herself that explaining an unfunny joke was just as unforgivable as making one. Anyways, she might make a better one tomorrow.
“It’s enough for Sharan’s eyes to exist. It’s a great help. The people of the kingdom feel safe just knowing that Sharan exists. Sharan… is the only defense that can stop the Demon King, right?.”
“…”
“You can’t relate to what I’m saying?”
“…I think I understand that there can be some presences that becomes strength just by existing.”
Ondal whispered quietly at Muriel.
Even though he was already looking at her with Sharan’s eyes, he turned his head towards her as if he wanted to see her with his own eyes, too. He stared at Muriel for a long while, as if the block cloth tied to shield him from the light didn’t exist.
“Ur… Kaiten Ur isn’t a bad person. He’s just someone who’s been through rough times. I’m kind of the only person in the world who knows what kind of person Kaiton truly is. That’s why I want to help Kaiton. Sometimes, it…it feels like that’s the reason I exist…”
“…Yes.”
“So, just for allowing me time to help Kaiton, I owe you a lot. So don’t be sorry for anything.”
“He… Kaiton… He’s Muriel’s friend…?”
“Well, rather than that, he’s more of a…”
While Muriel was engrossed in her conversation with Ondal, a demon approached unnoticed. Muriel, who spotted the pale ghost aiming for their life’s flames, didn’t have time to think and threw herself forward.
The Demon’s hand was just on the verge of touching Ondal, who was sitting in the darkness.
“August!”
Muriel screamed, embracing the pale ghost.
The chilling coldness of the demon seeped into her bones and made her tremble. Muriel gritted her teeth and endured it. It contained a determination to keep Ondal away from the moving disaster filled with despair and misfortune.
“Haah….”
“Mu… Muriel?! What’s wrong?”
She had to tell him everything was okay.
Instead of a response saying it’s nothing, a cold breath escaped Muriel’s lips.
Perhaps the damp and chilly feelings of the ghost had transferred to her.
Muriel felt her spirits rapidly dropping. An unbearable sense of desolation and melancholic emptiness engulfed her, and she felt as if she was being sucked into an endless swamp.
Muriel thought it was the process of pacio gradually being taken away and turning into a demon.
So, she pushed the demon away, shaking off the feeling of helplessness she didn’t want to entertain even for a moment. It was to separate herself, even just a little, from the demon and her soon-to-be demon self away from Ondal.
However, the demon resisted and pushed Muriel away.
As if his purpose was solely Ondal from the beginning.
As if Muriel didn’t exist.
Demons only want one thing.
The breath of God to save them from the chill of the underworld. Pacio.
The demon was caught again by Muriel and struggled in her grasp, but did not take away her pacio.
He reached out desperately towards Ondal, like a moth that found a flame, but acted as if Muriel was invisible.
He wasn’t taking away her pacio?
Why…?
“Muriel! Let go of the demon!”
August came running, dragging the wolf demon tied with a rope.
–AAAAA!
The tearful cry of the corrupted echoed through the ground.
As soon as the monster appeared, its already translucent form weakened even further, as if it truly feared the monster. It abandoned its obsession with Ondal and tried to disappear silently. August did not miss that moment and skillfully cut down the corrupted fallen soul.
Wobbling.
As soon as the urgent situation was resolved, Muriel slumped to the ground. She couldn’t stand because her legs had lost strength. The tremor didn’t easily go away. She thought it was because of the sudden drop in body temperature, but the fact was that her startled mind couldn’t calm down easily.
August quickly came to her side after tying the monster to a tree. The giant wolf-like monster thrashed violently, as if to break the tree, but no one paid attention to it. A gloomy silence settled between the two men.
“Muriel… I need to check how much pacio you have left.”
“August. No, no… don’t worry about that… I won’t become a demon.”
“Muriel. Losing the flame… it’s not something to take lightly.”
August, who thought Muriel only had a “surprisingly small amount of Paseo.” said somberly. Muriel, who had struggled to stand up, smacked August’s shoulder with effort.
“I’m not bluffing, it’s real.”
Not only did she possess an endlessly regenerating pacio, but she also had a pacio that demons didn’t even look back at. She was thrilled to see what her true purpose was, considering such great power was concentrated within her.
“I wonder where my abilities end. I’m getting goosebumps, too.”
