Chapter 152

One day ago, on November 10th.
“You said you’d let me go if I did what you said, but what the hell!”
“Don’t be a sneaky dick.”
“Who the fuck cares about half words now?”
“Don’t swear, or I’ll throw you off the road.”
The tone was so casual it didn’t sound like a joke. Noctane, who had been fuming, took half a step back. From their first meeting, he had been strangely afraid of Kim.
But after seeing him so many times during my parole process, I’ve gotten used to him. Most of all, my resentment was overcoming my fear.
“No, honestly, it’s all thanks to me, and of course that Mr. Pekatum…….”
“Asterique, not Mr. Pekatum.”
“……Asterike was great, but I’ll take the credit.”
The more you talk, the more desperate your expression becomes.
“So yeah, please just let me off the hook.”
Noctane gingerly grasped the restraints around his neck. Kim had given him the password, and he was able to free himself, at least temporarily, but his hard-won freedom was taken away again.
Naturally, the old password didn’t work. I also wondered how Kim had gotten the password in the first place. Had the guards told her anything?
For the most part, it was Kim Yi Hyun who took the reins of Noctane.
“Do you have any idea how uncomfortable it is to live with this thing? It snaps on my neck when I do anything, it’s heavy, and it’s darn heavy, and it’s making my life miserable.”
I won’t run away, please!
I changed my strategy and appealed to my emotions. I rubbed my hands together and shed a few tears. It was such an intense performance that I felt almost self-conscious at my own vulnerability.
At this point, you might be sympathetic.
“No.”
“You devil! This is it, it’s a scam!”
“Scams are bullshit. Did you forget what I told you?”
“You said you’d let me go if I helped you…”
“You said you’d get me out of jail.”
Kim points his finger at his feet. Asphalt roads, the first time he’d trodden outside in a long time. Noctane was impressed, though he didn’t show it.
“That’s why you let me out. After that, I’m free.”
“Why are you doing this, it’s my life.”
“Because we have officially taken over your recruit.”
I was at a loss for words, so I just stood there.
“If you understand, do well from now on. Your quality of life, whether you eat or sleep, will be based entirely on your performance. This is going to be a much better place to work than you think, so stop whining.”
“Gee, you’re whining….”
“I think I’m being nice enough, don’t you?”
In the end, Noctane was silenced.
No, not at all, it was just that the hardened tone of his voice conveyed that this was his last chance.
“If you’re a kid, look at your past. How you ended up not being in control of your own life.”
It was a simple sequence cleanup.
It was a necessary step. Dustborne aside, the professors didn’t like Noctane. There was no way Leila was going to like the idea of bringing in a criminal.
Kim exchanged a glance with Leila, who looked over at her with a vague glance. A bitter smile curved the corners of her mouth. It could be interpreted as a sign of reluctance but trust.
“That’s enough.
With everything in place, I departed from Ishrad.
The one car became two again. Thankfully, the ivory tower provided me with a car that had just been delivered. We got rid of the used car and got a brand new one.
It’s quite a distance to the old Shalem enclave where the lab is located. I’d be stuck in the car for days. I stare out the car window and mentally map the surroundings.
I had a flash of knowledge.
‘Come to think of it, Shamalsina was right around the corner.
Kingdom of Shamalshina.
It’s not exactly a poor country, but it’s also not a developed country with a high international profile. A country that wasn’t invited to the summit in Episode 13, either in the game or in real life.
However, even if they were on the list of invited countries, they probably wouldn’t attend. It used to be a popular tourist destination, but today it’s a different story. It’s a very closed government.
“I wonder if I can make connections at this stage of my career.
While I was thinking about it, I also asked my professors for their thoughts.
“Shamalsina? Why are you there. Isn’t there anything there?”
“Mr. Pablo. Such demeaning language is a little….”
“Cut me some slack. It’s between us.”
When to stop moving and take a break.
We discussed the schedule while filling our bellies with dry food.
“We don’t have a lot of power, but we don’t have nothing.”
Westcreek explained.
“The Shrine of Shamalshina was famous in the olden days, and I heard that an old man I knew had taken a tour there in the past. To see the saint that the shamans worship.”
“A saint?”
The professor seemed to be hearing this for the first time. Perhaps it was because it was an old story. She had lost her memory, and it took some effort to keep up with modern international affairs.
“It’s a symbolic figure of the Order, and saints are only produced in certain Shamanic families. They are said to have special powers passed down from generation to generation.”
“If it were a special power….”
“Of course it’s a spell.”
“Are you saying that spells are passed on to children?”
Leila shook her head at the professor’s question.
“I know that spells are sometimes passed down, but it’s unlikely, and I don’t think it’s realistic to expect them to be passed down for hundreds of years. I think there must be a secret.”
Of course, it’s also possible that the succession could have been unbroken by extreme probability.
But Leila was convinced that not everything was as it seemed.
“They say saints read the future.”
“How is that possible?”
“Well, I don’t know for sure, but I think it’s a possibility, and the reason Shamalsina became a tourist attraction was because of the ‘divination’ organized by the shrine.”
Clear brown eyes stared at Kim.
“Let’s go, they say outsiders aren’t welcome here, but you never know. If you can get in touch with a saint, and if you can really foretell the future… it would be a great help.”
His demeanor was more serious than usual. To meet a being with the power of portraiture, the ability to glimpse into times other than the present. Leila had so many questions she wanted to ask.
You have a destination.
We took a detour from the plains left by the catastrophe and took mountain passes. Unlike Earth, much of Polaris was unclaimed land. It was the territory of abandoned or destroyed nations.
The human sphere has shrunk so much in just 40 years. Some countries are still standing, but the future is unknown. Their fate is like that of a windmill that may collapse overnight.
I felt it in my bones.
Around noon on November 11th.
The team drove a day to reach the border in Shamalsina.
“Tongue, Mr. String. This is…….”
It was a field of corpses.
Even they weren’t whole. Traces of humanity were scattered about, like leftover scraps of food. Flies swarmed around the stinking mass of meat.
Synapse and Ghost quickly identified the corpse.
“It’s been a while since it went into active decay.”
“Yeah, I can see the muscle breakdown, and it’s been 30 days since he died.”
“30 days?”
Kim frowned. The devastation before her eyes alone explained the gravity of the situation. But the Ghost’s findings hinted at something worse.
“He died less than a month ago and has been neglected until now?”
“If you didn’t knowingly facilitate corruption, you would be.”
“Holy shit….”
An expletive slipped out of my mouth. Kim lifted his gaze and looked around the checkpoint. The roads and buildings were intact. It was almost as if there hadn’t been a battle.
“Edwin. What do you think?”
“Do you think it’s Legion’s doing?”
After a short silence, Edwin answered.
“I can’t say for sure. I’ve never even heard of Legion being interested in Shamalshina, and if it was a month ago, it would have coincided with Ishrad.”
“Legion likes to use buckets.”
“I don’t think the current legion can afford that.”
“So you’re saying there’s no relationship?”
He shook his head.
“I spoke to ……Kamael Rothfer, and it sounds like the organization is out of control right now, and there may be a cadre who has been running things on his own terms, with his own troops under him.”
Then, he observed the way the body had been torn apart.
“It’s what I’m used to.”
Kim didn’t know what Edwin had guessed. No, she’d been picturing the beast’s identity in her head even before she’d heard his opinion.
The prediction has now solidified into near certainty.
“Professor. What to do.”
The professor swallowed hard at the bluntness of the call. He borrowed the form of the question to show respect for her position, but the tone was forced.
She could only nod her head.
“…Let’s go in. Everybody back in the car.”
In an emergency, the agents moved in unison. Everyone was on high alert, except for Noctane, who was still unaware of what was going on.
Two vehicles roared down the road, their engines roaring. Shamalsina is a country about as small as Atlanta. It didn’t take long to reach the center.
In the meantime, no pedestrians were seen.
The reason for the people’s disappearance quickly became clear.
“This demented bastard is….”
The capital was deserted. A pantheon of saints and 36 shamans. The palace, the symbol of the monarchy. The bustling city center, the center of civilization, had been wiped out, leaving only the ruins.
Traces of being swallowed by something absurdly huge.
Inevitably, the agents were reminded of a scene from the past.
“I’m sure. The godmother did it.”
Kim gritted her teeth. She should have killed the godmother then. At this point, with the second half yet to begin, she was the biggest and deadliest variable.
“Bird, we need to find survivors, let’s spread out and search!”
“Yes. There may be survivors. Ghost, you stick with Leila.”
“Sure.”
The Lab’s agents began to rat-tag the neighborhood. Leila’s face was particularly pale. She looked traumatized.
“Mr. President. What about us?”
“Chelsea and Edwin. Asterique with Ekidna.”
I gave Asterike the [Vibranium Composite Sword] with instructions. Given the circumstances, I doubt she’s still here, but we need a failsafe.
“Okay, strings?”
“I need to think about this for a minute.”
Chelsea, who would normally have complained about being left to her own devices, did as she was told.
After sending his colleagues away, Kim was left alone in the ruins.
The calculations in my brain were quick.
‘It’s not as big a hit as you think.
The only major character in Shamalsina is the saint. She is not a playable character. She appears throughout the story and offers advice to the Professor and Leila.
To put it bluntly, you don’t need it.
The game’s scenario has been seriously twisted, so I’m just here to hear a glimpse of the future. It would have helped if you had a friendly relationship with the Saint, but it didn’t hurt you immediately.
“It’s not like you can pick and choose the future you want to see in the first place.
You know it’s random. If it reads anything, it’s probably come to rub off on you somehow in the past, and since it doesn’t help you in combat, you can be moderately disappointed and move on.
However.
“It’s one thing for a saint to be passed over for a godmother.
If a godmother had the foresight of a saint.
The risk of godmothering becomes absurdly high.
The solution is twofold
“We need to find them and kill them now.
Best if you can slay the Godmother.
The next best thing is to remove the saint.
It was a moment of clarity.
Procrastination.
Black slime suddenly erupted from the ground.