24 Hearts
Chapter 88

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Calypso’s Nightmare

‘Ah, I’m going crazy.’

Judas thought to himself as they traversed the second basement floor. He felt like something had been eating away his mind. Ever since they came down to this level, a weird feeling began to creep into him, but he only managed to notice it now.

‘Will I even receive proper compensation for this?’

The reason he tried to come this far and perform the quest on purpose was to stop Count Jinmu and get stats as a reward. It had the potential to give him a much more valuable reward than the natural flow of the story because this quest had something to do with the other world.

‘It should be about here.’

Not a single monster interfered with him, so he proceeded without hesitation. He scratched his head before pressing a certain brick.

His hand pushed the brick further. At the same time, they heard a rumbling from beneath like something was moving, and the surroundings shook as if an earthquake had occurred. Not too far away, another sound of rumbling followed. And just like that, the road to the third basement floor opened.

“That’s amazing. Did you learn this from Gentia?” Jeanne asked, watching from behind in pure admiration.

“No. I learn this from, uh, novels. There are a lot of these things.”

“You learned that from such things…?” Jeanne was quick to follow-up with another question.

He wanted to explain it, but when he tried to come up with something rational, Judah just gave up because it didn’t sound convincing even to him.

“That was a coincidence? Um, it’s like something you can foresee?”

“For example?”

“Hm. When you fight against an enemy, you feel like you can see the enemy’s attack path, right?”

Judah tilted his head, uneasy about what he said. But surprisingly, Jeanne nodded slowly, as if she understood it.

“Sure. I understand.”

In a sense, she did, and Judah wanted to ask, but he could only muster an awkward laugh.

They entered the doorway, and he felt frustrated to see only a bricked hallway, an empty room, and the high ceiling. It seemed like everything was blocked. Was he experiencing claustrophobia? He sighed, following the low rumble beneath the ground, and finally found a staircase leading to the lower basement.

“It smells like blood.”

“I can hear the scream of the ghosts.”

The moment they descended, they could already feel the presence of their enemies. Jeanne led the way, going down two steps ahead of him. Her back looked very reliable. Their footsteps echoed alternatively, sometimes resonating in sync. The stairs were longer than the previous ones they’ve taken. By the time they reached the end, they had understood why it was so long.

They found themselves standing inside a huge cave, with a high ceiling stretching far above their eyes could see. The claustrophobic floor they came from had nothing against this enormous area.

The first thing they saw was the red magic circle drawn on the neat floor, like flattened asphalt.

There was a triangle inside it, and three other magic circles were engraved within the triangle. In the center of each circle, a bead hovered about 1m from the floor, absorbing the red aura leaking out of the magic circle. Just the mere sight of it felt dangerous right away.

And at the center of the magic circle, where the three circles overlapped, there was an altar, where Count Jinmu was sitting. He waited without uttering a word until his eyes looked straight at Judah. When their eyes met, he waved his hand as if they were close friends.

“Hello.”

“That voice is terrible even after hearing it a few times. Not like that’ll change in a few hours….”

It was quite painful to hear hundreds of people talking at the same time. Their thick voices dominated one another, leaving no room for harmony.

“Kyahaha! What a very proud kid. If we met you while we were alive, we’d sound pretty well. Sorry. Are you dissatisfied with our voices?”

“Yes.”

“So, how about this?”

Suddenly, a beautiful voice came from his mouth. Judah frowned.

Hearing a voice reminiscent of a beautiful woman’s face but seeing it come out of a shaggy man’s body gave him goosebumps.

“I prefer the voice before…”

“Oh? How come you’re still complaining?”

He didn’t know who he was talking to. Was it another soul in the body? Then suddenly, the Count rose from where he sat. He cracked his head from side to side in a stretch to loosen up his body.

“Let me ask you this… Did you have any difficulties in getting this far?”

“I didn’t have a clue, so I struggled a lot. Your hospitability as the host is terrible.”

Jinmu erupted into laughter, stepping away from the circle.

“So you really wished to come here. We gave you enough chances to go back, but seeing that you didn’t leave, that means you’re going to stop us. It’s obvious that you have no regrets when you die?”

He snapped his finger and jumped. Wherever they were hiding, ghosts sprang from the floor and started leaving behind foul traces of energy like perfume. It filled their heads with an unpleasant afterthought.

“Since the summoning ceremony is in progress, let’s just play with each other in the meantime? Look! There is a Blue Lancer among us.”

Purple magical power emerged and wrapped around Jinmu’s body. In a flash, an armor, shield, and lance appeared on the Count built much grander than Jeanne’s.

‘How did they conjure that…?’

Even if the Count’s high level caused it, something was different from it. Although the decline in level and stats led to a great deal, it wasn’t surprising that his characteristics and skills were far from weak. Still, it startled Jeanne, as she stood there frozen in shock.

“How should I test the skill of my junior? If you survive, you’ll learn a great lesson.”

-What do mean lesson? You have to kill it.

“Quiet. Isn’t it ‘my’ turn now? No matter what I say, don’t interfere.”

-Oh, good, good. After you, you have to follow our opinion silently. So we won’t be saying anything for now.

“As it should be.”

Unlike hundreds of people speaking at the same time, suddenly, the voice was alone. Jeanne braced as she walked, and Jinmu took the same posture. Their shields were held out, and their lancers were drawn. They looked the same, even the way their helmet hid their faces.

“Let’s begin. And it would be better if the kid over there doesn’t do anything funny. Join us.”

Judah paused as he tried to take his step and head towards the magic circle that the ghosts were protecting. Jinmu rushed at them with his shield. Judah came out to the side and threw Altemia out of impulse as he stood on his ground firmly.

The dagger, thrown from his left hand, shot straight between the gaps of Jinmu’s helmet, but he blocked with his shield sending it bouncing to the ground.

‘It bounced?’

It was natural for them to be wary of Altemia. After all, it had struck Jinmu before. But how much magic power did they use against the dagger that they managed to defend against it? In embarrassment, he didn’t throw another dagger, but Jeanne was there to collide against Jinmu.

Quaang─!

Jeanne’s body was pushed back, her heels skidding through the ground.

“Haha, you lack power, junior!”

“Tsk!”

The spirit in possession of Jinmu’s body cackled and stabbed his lance. He faltered, allowing Jeanne to step back and lift her lance to stop his. However, Jinmu’s weapon managed to push Jeanne’s lance outward, bend like a snake, poking her arm and aiming at her heart.

Jeanne couldn’t stand still, so Judah ran, and she triggered -Shadow Justice- and -Shadow Swordsmanship- at the same time. As his magic activated together, black magic wrapped around his bastard sword, forming a thick, cone-shaped lance. Jinmu turned and used his shield to block Judah’s shadow swordsmanship.

Some of the magical power that made up the shield scattered at first but swarmed back together instantly. Judah’s lance, however, melted into the air. Swiftly, he drew out his arms and attempted to conjure Altemia, but at the moment he tried to throw it, Jinmu’s lance came to his side in a blink.

Should he stop it or avoid it?

His choice was the latter. Judah’s lance disappeared to the ground, as he avoided by jumping to his left. His opponent turned his body around, spurring the ground with his heel to charge at him. Judah dug his soles on the floor to lean back, knowing that if Jinmu hit him, he might fly across the room.

Judah’s heavy left foot sent him away from the Count. As soon as he got out of the spot, Jeanne attacked Jinmu from behind.

‘What is this?’

Cold sweat ran down his back.

Magic, Spreading Shadows, and Potential Liberation ─ Even though he had three skills activated, they could not fight against Jinmu’s attacks. If he thought about it, it felt like they would lose even if he had fragments. The Count swung at Judah again before confronting Jeanne in a blink, and the result was the same. He was so skillful that he countered their attacks easily.

It was given that the battle would be different, but this was far too different.

The shield and lance techniques that only a Blue Lancer could use threatened their every move.

It was hard. Hard enough to lead them to their deaths.

-Wow, you’re pretty good? How did you lose to Jinmu while having this level of skill?

“He was also skillful. Now he’s weak enough to be eaten by us.”

The ghosts even had the gall to chat. He effortlessly struck Jeanne and Judah, pushing them away.

“Both of you are more talented than I expected. I would say your courageous act of facing us is worth it. But if that’s all you can do, unfortunately, it’ll end here.”

“I don’t think so.”

Judah threw Altemia at Jinmu and triggered Liberation. The moment the dagger reached his shield, the skill that ground ghosts and ghouls like a blender activated. There was no time for him to say anything. The magic power holding up his shield crushed at the sharp edges of Altemia.

“Jeanne, take care of him for a second.”

“Don’t worry.”

She didn’t ask why. He didn’t even think that Judah would run away, but she continued blocking Jinmu as Judah dashed to the magic circle. In the game, defeating Jinmu was simple. All he had to do was destroy the magic circle that summoned Bel-Therja. He summoned three Altemias in between the fingers of his left hand.

-Stop him!

The ghosts possessing Jinmu shouted from behind, and the spirits who were only watching by the magic circle finally moved. Although frightened by the crowd of ghosts, Judah heaved a laugh and threw the daggers in his hand.

Altemia’s blade cut through the air in a blinding blood-red flare.

* * *

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#Setting 6. 「Bel-Therja」

The sixth monarch -Bel-Therja- is the figure of death.

The king of demons, the eternal monarch, the one who chews on solitude─He titles, and living creatures cower in fear at the mention of his name.

Of course, other monarchs were not afraid of him.

For them, death was a strange thing and a force to overcome.

Unless you cut your own heart like Pernen.

However, he recognized the power of those who had higher ranks, such as monarchs and kings, but he was absurdly strong and terrifying to those weaker than him.

Everyone is reluctant to enter his realm. Even demons and monsters who were unable to feel fear feared him. And no devil ever dared to covet the power that he had.

He lived in a body made of bones, which was an eternal form, and it took away the vitality around him little by little, no matter how much he controlled his strength. In the beginning, the land of the demon world where he was located was a lively place overflowing with life, but now it had become a wasteland.

As a way to seal his strength, he ceased to absorb the life force of others, but his barren land became an environment where life was difficult to exist. He wanted to see life overflowing once more within his realm, and it was said that he tried experimenting by making fake flowers and trees, planting dolls, and putting souls in them.

The dolls he made were so precise that they lived as if they were truly alive unless you looked closely at them. Some of these solid foundations were things that he learned from Pernen, but after investing more than a few decades in this hobby, he naturally reached a level of craftsmanship. Humans, elves, monsters… There was nothing he couldn’t make.

According to the rumors, he saw the fragments that Pernen made from his heart and asked for one of its pieces, but he was flatly rejected.