Chapter 38 - Yohan's Bizarre Vacation (6)

"A-aaagh—!"

Edward howled beneath the torrent of light. He had prepared a false corpse body to ward off his opponent's magic, but it was useless.

This did not merely destroy flesh. It destroyed enemies—obstacles blocking the way. It pursued him, breaking down his body and consciousness.

CRRRSH

It struck even the soul in his true body. There was no time to do anything. If his concentration slipped for even an instant, he would be annihilated!

"Grrgh—aaah!"

He tried to hold out, but it was impossible. The two arms he had thrust forward had already turned to dust and vanished. As his corpse body crumbled and scattered beneath the pouring light...

"Aaaaaagh! Ah!?"

Edward and Yohan narrowed their eyes at the same time, for entirely different reasons.

CR-CRACKLE

Cracks spread through the pentacle parchment serving as the medium for the spell. Yohan's magic had not failed. It had been cast perfectly. And precisely because of that...

CRACKLE!

The parchment Kim Miryeo had made could not withstand Yohan's pentacle magic. It would have been fine if he had regulated the output, but naturally, this was his first time using it, and he had no idea how. Besides, he had intended to kill Edward outright from the beginning, so he had made no attempt to hold back.

In the end, the parchment tore beneath the force of the light pouring from it, unable to withstand the output. Light leaked through the tear, and Edward seized that opening.

"—?!"

He severed his connection to the false body to save his life. Immediately afterward, it collapsed to the floor and crumbled into dust.

CRUNCH...

·

·

·

"Aaaagh—hah! Hah!"

Edward sat up in his hideout, gasping for breath. Cold sweat poured from his entire body. Had that opening appeared even a little later, he would have...

His face, pale with terror, twisted.

"... No. No!"

To forget his fear, he filled its place with anger.

'That was dangerous... but his spell failed... He's still an inexperienced magician, just as I thought.'

If his opponent truly were inexperienced, Edward would never have suffered like this. Ordinarily, he would have recognized that and withdrawn at once.

But greed filled his eyes, enough to make him forget even his terror. Though he had seen it only for an instant, he could not forget the sight of <Lemegeton> in that man's hand, witnessed with his own two eyes.

The necromancy Edward had learned was a form of demonological magic belonging to Gamigin's school of arts for commanding the dead.

Gamigin – Fourth of Solomon's seventy-two demons. Appears in the form of a donkey and teaches knowledge of necromancy and the arts of commanding the dead. It is said that, upon making a pact, he remains beside the summoner until their wish is fulfilled.

With <Lemegeton>, which could subjugate all seventy-two demons, Edward could rise higher. That great grimoire, that treasure, clouded his judgment.

And there was something else...

His eyes flashed fiercely with fear and murderous intent.

He recalled Yohan's face. Though the spell had failed, its power made his body tremble. He clenched his teeth at the chilling sensation.

Yes, he would admit it. For a fledgling magician who had only recently acquired a grimoire, the man was exceptional.

'... He's dangerous.'

He had to kill him while he was still inexperienced, still a young beast that had yet to grow to maturity. If he failed to kill him now, he would become more than Edward could handle.

That was why Edward immediately sent every zombie he had stationed along the perimeter to watch for intruders toward the hall.

The spell that had turned the zombies to dust was powerful, but the parchment that seemed to serve as its medium had torn. He would not be able to use it again.

Besides, Edward now knew his opponent's trick. He would never approach that magic circle.

... He would not fall for it this time.

Eyes blazing with murderous intent and greed, Edward moved to kill the young magician.

* * *

Inside the hall.

Standing on the crude painted magic circle, its light now extinguished, I stared at the corpse that had turned to dust.

'This is...'

Sua, whose face had gone slack with astonishment at the sight, came to her senses and asked,

"D-did you get him? Ah!"

She shut her mouth after hearing her own words.

I stepped out of the magic circle and looked outside through the hall's broken doorway. The zombies surrounding the hall seemed to have all turned to dust, but the unpleasant, murky fog still lingered.

My eyes narrowed.

'... He's alive. The magician who did all this.'

Sua trotted after me and spoke cautiously.

"Um... It's not because I said, 'Did you get him?' that you didn't get him, right?"

"That has nothing to do with it. Those who die, die. Those who live, live."

"Uh... So you did get him?"

"No. He got away."

I answered casually and shook the hand holding the parchment. The pentacle parchment I had worked so hard to make crumbled and scattered like scorched paper.

"Tsk."

Should I have made the parchment myself after all? But I didn't know how to butcher an animal, and... skinning one was hard.

Kim Miryeo, that bitch. She should have spent her time making decent parchment instead of eating people.

... Well, it wasn't as though I had paid for it. I'd killed her and taken it, so complaining about the quality was pretty ridiculous.

There was no point dwelling on something already broken. Next time, I'd make my pentacles out of durable metal.

Then the people inside the magic circle shuffled out, watching my expression as they spoke.

"E-excuse me—then what are we to do now?"

The zombies around the hall were gone, but the fog was still thick, so nothing had been resolved. I'd expected them to complain, 'You started this! Why can't you finish it?!' and act like candidates for Grizzly's next meal. Instead, they were incredibly polite.

Their phrasing was a little old-fashioned, too.

Then again, if some random person went on about God this and God that before firing a destruction beam that turned zombies to dust, I'd probably become polite, too.

I watched the drifting dust. It certainly required all sorts of preparation, and I could only use it on Saturdays. Still, even with a one-week cooldown, it was a good spell.

Apparently, they didn't put Solomon's name on it for nothing.

Anyway, I gave them a perfunctory answer.

"The door's broken, too. This place isn't safe anymore. If you want to escape, go ahead. Do whatever you like."

"... What?"

This wasn't the time to worry about other people.

Then Ellie stepped forward.

"Everyone, I think Yohan is right. Staying here will be dangerous. The fog is still here, but there are fewer zombies now. Since we can't wait for rescue somewhere safe, why don't we try finding a vehicle in the parking lot?"

Maybe the fog also carried a curse that weakened people physically. The adults were still managing, but the children did look unwell.

"... Since we were going to stay here..."

With things having turned out this way, Sua spoke up.

"I didn't say anything because it wouldn't have mattered, but when we got off the bus, I saw the keys still in the ignition."

Apparently, the driver had left them there when he got out.

But that was one thing. I asked Sua,

"Does anyone here know how to drive a bus?"

"I've played a truck-driving game. Euro Truck."

Should I call her brave? Or a crazy bitch?

"Euro Truck... Let's put that option on hold."

Ellie cautiously raised her hand.

"I do know how to drive large vehicles."

"... You do?"

Everyone turned to her at the unexpected statement. Looking a little embarrassed, she said,

"Well... My mother taught me. Just in case, she said."

Her mother...

Curious, I asked Ellie,

"Did your mother also teach you the fighting techniques you used against the zombies?"

"Yes, she taught me."

Driving heavy vehicles and a breathing technique? Had she put her through disaster-preparedness training or something?

Either way, this nun was remarkably versatile.

"Please don't take this the wrong way... but I'm curious what sort of person your mother is."

"Ahaha, I won't."

Ellie smiled gently, then looked at me and cautiously began,

"Yohan, come with us—"

"I'm not going. I have things to do."

And I made a quick judgment.

"Given how things have turned out, my chances of surviving are better if I move alone."

The zombies' numbers had visibly decreased, but taking all these people out in a crowd to board the bus was still dangerous.

At my blatant declaration that I was abandoning them, Ellie simply nodded.

"... That's true."

She thanked me in a gentle, warm voice.

"Yohan, thank you so much for today. Without you, more people would have died. I'm sorry we're leaving without properly thanking you after all you've done to help."

She looked at me with concern.

"... I know you're an extraordinary person, but please don't push yourself too hard."

Then Ellie entrusted one of the unwell children to Sua.

"Sua, carry Minhee on your back."

"... Okay."

Sua glanced at me and said,

"Thanks for fixing my leg. ... Well, if we live, see you around."

The others murmured among themselves and watched me warily, but there were fewer zombies now, and with the hall's door broken, there was nowhere safe to stay. They followed Ellie's group.

Finally alone in the hall, I recalled Ellie leaving with a sick child in her arms.

Unbelievable. Not just a child, but a sick child. With all those burdens hanging off her, who was she to worry about me?

I looked at the fog. Whether it was a lack of ability or bad luck, I'd failed to kill the magician responsible for this.

I didn't feel regret or think about what a shame it was. Those were luxuries for when you had breathing room. It had already happened, and dwelling on it was a waste of time. What I needed now was my next plan.

... Though there wasn't much to call a plan.

My eyes narrowed. Find him and kill him. There was nothing else.

Still, having to do this all over again when I could have finished it in one shot was irritating.

Then, as I watched the fog, I spotted something. My eyes widened for an instant, and a laugh escaped me.

"Ha!"

It was a horde of zombies approaching in the distance. I'd been worried he might run away, but apparently he had the same idea I did.

"..."

... And there was a sweet taste in my mouth. Red-bean bread, with a hint of peanut sandwich, too.

"Right... Two birds, one stone."

The red-bean bun had been cold, since we hadn't even been able to microwave it, but it had tasted perfectly good. It had filled my stomach.

Even if I'd only been paid in bread, I'd do enough work to cover what I'd received. Though this felt like overtime.

"John Constantine, my ass..."

Working for half a red-bean bun. I was practically Doraemon.

I turned and walked toward the sound equipment at the back of the hall. I switched on the laptop beside it.

The fog kept the internet from working, but there were songs saved on it. I checked the playlist.

"Hmm... They've got this?"

[Green Day – Holiday]

* * *

Ellie felt she had made the wrong decision.

No—she had made the wrong decision.

And the worst part was that everyone might die because of it.

"Aaaagh!"

The zombies she had thought were gone swarmed toward them in huge numbers.

"Everyone, keep running!"

DUN

With a child in her arms, Ellie smashed the head of a zombie that lunged at her. But things were looking bad. One of the running children fell.

DUN

"Aaaagh!"

"...!"

Ellie was alone, and there were so many zombies.

DUN

A zombie lunged at the fallen child. Then it abruptly stopped.

DUN-DA-DUN! DUN-DUN-DUN-DUN-DUN!

It was the sound of an electric guitar, utterly out of place in this situation.

"Aaaah..."

Every zombie turned its head and body, looking toward a single spot.

The sound system's volume was at maximum. The song blasted through the fog.

"Hear the drum pounding out of time!"

Listen to the drum beating out of rhythm.

Through a gap in the fog, a scene came into view. Yohan stood on the hall's rooftop, singing into a microphone.

"Another protester has crossed the line—!"

Another protester has stepped over the line.

Ellie stared blankly at the incomprehensible sight.

'Huh? Huh? Why? Singing? Huh?'

Reacting to the loud noise—

"Aaaah—!"

Every zombie there stared at the hall's rooftop where Yohan stood, as though nothing else mattered.

"To find the money's on the other side!"

To find the money on the opposing side.

The zombies passed the fallen child. They ran past the people.

All the malice that had filled this place, all the teeth and nails that should have been turned on the people, converged on Yohan alone.

"Aaaah—!"

A zombie brushed past Ellie.

That—that, to Ellie, was a sight like salvation.

The electric guitar ringing out. The zombies screaming. Yohan singing.

For Ellie, who had grown up in a religious order, it was an intensely electrifying salvation. A moment more astonishing even than the incredible magic circle Yohan had shown them.

... Words would not come easily.

Her lips parted slightly, and her blue eyes were fixed on Yohan alone.

What should she feel? What should she say?

Nothing came to mind. Her heart simply raced. She simply became part of this moment, listening to Yohan's song.

"Can I get another Amen?"

Would you give me an amen?

Without realizing it, Ellie placed a hand over her chest and murmured,

"... Amen."

Then Sua grabbed her wrist.

"Ellie! I know it's absurd, but run!"

"... Huh?"

Ellie snapped back to her senses.

"Yes... Oh, right. But what about Yohan!?"

"It's him! He'll figure something out! We're only getting in his way!"

Sua put the quick judgment she had learned from Yohan to use. Seizing this opening, she took Ellie by the wrist and ran.