Night had deepened.
Due to the danger, all the city lights were turned off, and people began moving toward the shelters they had prepared in advance.
However, the city was still bright.
This was because there were so many people carrying torches.
The torchbearers began searching the city’s corners blindly.
With the Dungeon Break bringing thousands of monsters, this situation was definitely not normal.
But they searched the city blindly as if they had heard the voice of a god.
[Where are they? Find them!]
[Let’s start by searching the empty inns where the outsiders are staying!]
anwhile, the outsiders, who had been drinking as usual, blinked their eyes in shock.
Their eyes widened because a group of people with bloodshot eyes barged into the inn.
Caught off guard by the unexpected situation, they couldn’t help but panic.
[W-what’s going on? Why is this happening?]
[Search everything!]
[Don’t think they’ll spare you just because you’re an outsider!]
[What is going on here?]
[Even if we die, just tell us what this is about... ack!]
Crash!
One of the drunk people, trying to approach the excited crowd, was hit and fell to the ground.
Normally, even if they were outsiders, soone would have helped them up.
But the situation was completely different now.
The drunk person’s scream only fueled the crowd’s excitent.
[They’re trying to stop our search, are they part of the demons too?]
[Since they’re outsiders, it’s suspicious. Drag them out! Catch them!]
[What, what? I didn’t do anything... urgh!]
The drunk person who had fallen was soon beaten.
The other outsiders froze at the sight.
Most of them had no idea what was happening in the city right now.
So the situation was even more shocking.
[Can soone please explain what’s going on...?]
[We know each other, please tell us!]
A few people tried to find soone they knew and begged for help.
Among them, an elderly man, feeling betrayed, trembled his beard.
[Why are you doing this to ?]
In fact, most outsiders had gotten used to free food and lodging, often causing trouble. But so of them had offered to help with all sorts of chores out of gratitude.
And this elderly man was one of them.
[Grandpa, Lang.]
The elderly man, surprised to see a familiar face, clung to the acquaintance.
[Are you really going to drag away too? Please, tell ... please?]
But everyone ignored the elderly man.
This was no situation where a few people could be spared.
[She’s not here?]
[Then drag everyone out!]
[Yes, take them to the plaza!]
The people in the empty inn were all awakened, but due to the formation, they couldn’t use their powers properly. Outnumbered, they had no way of fighting back.
The outsiders were quickly bound with ropes and dragged out of the inn.
The crowd spat insults at them.
[They’ve been eating and playing like pigs every day, these demonic bastards!]
[They don’t even know how to be grateful!]
[What do you an, demonic?]
[Don’t you know? You outsiders brought disaster to this city!]
The subtle resentnt toward the outsiders that had been building among the people fueled the madness.
[We’ve fed and housed you as guests, and you don’t even appreciate it. You’re shaless!]
[We should burn them all alive!]
The idea that ‘outsiders’ were the cause of the Dungeon Break didn’t make much sense if you thought about it for even a mont.
After all, they couldn’t leave the city in the first place.
But what mattered to the crowd was not the truth.
Teacher Hyunam had pointed to one of the outsiders as the culprit behind the incident.
That was an incredibly convincing answer for the terrified crowd.
Humans, when given the right excuse, are creatures who can easily bla others.
The inn quickly beca chaotic, and the torchbearers dragged the outsiders, who were all bound, to the plaza.
[It hurts, please stop!]
[What did I do to deserve this!]
The outsiders who were dragged away scread, but no one listened to them.
And even those who continued protesting were left speechless when they saw the scene unfolding on the giant screen in the plaza.
[What’s all that? A group of monsters?]
[Crazy. There must be thousands of them... we need to run away right now! What’s going on!?]
[Shut up, this is all your fault!]
[What nonsense... urgh!]
It was a scene of utter madness.
The outsiders were dragged like dogs and thrown into the center of the plaza, bound by ropes.
The crowd surrounded them, cursing and spitting at them.
As if everything that had happened was their fault.
In the middle of this madness, the bewildered So Mun-young grabbed a manager who caught her eye and asked,
[Did you find her?]
The manager she grabbed was one of the staff mbers she had seen around often.
[Ah, it’s Miss So. Why aren’t you heading to the shelter?]
The tone was very casual.
Considering the situation happening, it was strangely out of place.
[That’s...]
[You want to help the city, but don’t push yourself too hard.]
So Mun-young hesitated to answer, but perhaps because she had helped so much in the past and had served as a liaison among the staff, the manager didn’t find it suspicious and answered her question.
[Ah, the demon Mr. Hyunam ntioned hasn’t been found yet. The problem is the lack of hands.]
[Lack of hands?]
[Yeah, I don’t know where the other managers went. Especially people like Jeong So-hwa. They were supposed to be on duty today, but they’ve disappeared. I and the others were off today but were called in urgently. I don’t know if they’re off drinking or sleeping sowhere. Tch.]
[That...]
So Mun-young was about to talk about the incident from earlier that day but closed her mouth.
‘Could it be that they don’t know about it yet?’
Indeed, the conflict earlier that day between Jeong So-hwa, the other managers, and Jeong Da-on was sothing that wouldn’t be appropriate to bring up right now.
Usually, in a bustling city like this, people would have learned about the incident by now, but with the ergency situation happening, perhaps the staff were keeping it quiet.
‘But why didn’t Teacher Hyunam tell us that his own disciples had been involved in this?’
No matter how she thought about it, this situation felt strange.
At this rate, the city might really be dood.
Could it be that the punishnt Jeong Da-on spoke of was this?
And, why... why did Teacher Hyunam bla the outsiders for all this?
‘This really is strange.’
The doubts So Mun-young had started with were growing stronger.
At first, she had wondered if she had been so blinded by her child’s illness that she had been lured into the hands of the demon.
But now, as she looked around the plaza, she saw that she wasn’t the only one left wandering, ✧ NоvеIight ✧ (Original source) unable to reach the shelter.
Most of the parents who had rushed to find Jeong Da-on earlier, carrying their sick children, were standing around the plaza, looking nervous.
‘There’s sothing off about this, but... still, we were helped.’
Probably, other parents were thinking the sa as So Mun-young and were lingering in the plaza.
After all, it wasn’t Teacher Hyunam who saved the children, but Jeong Da-on, the outsider.
So Mun-young didn’t want to see them dragged into the plaza and treated like dogs, like the others.
And, more than anything...
‘What about the children who can’t even go to the hospital and are still sick?’
As a person with a precious grandson, she couldn’t help but think of the parents who were pacing around with sick children, unable to do anything.
At least Jeong Da-on had provided the treatnt that Teacher Hyunam hadn’t.
‘Yes, I’ll speak up. Since I know her, she might listen to .’
In the end, So Mun-young decided to speak up.
She would tell them that Teacher Hyunam’s words seed strange.
That the outsider didn’t seem like a demon and that it looked like the other disciples had been completely defeated earlier.
That this situation felt full of discomfort.
[Sorry, I don’t have ti to talk anymore. Anyway, miss, it seems like your child is sick too. Please don’t just stand here and go to the shelter...]
Just as So Mun-young tried to speak to the manager.
[Oh? Aren’t those Teacher Hyunam’s disciples?]
[It’s Jeong So-hwa.]
A group of over ten people appeared on the far side of the plaza.
Leading the group was Jeong So-hwa.
Few in the city didn’t know her face, so everyone stepped aside.
But the whispers didn’t stop.
[But why do they look like that?]
It was natural for the whispers because the appearance of Jeong So-hwa and the other managers was utterly wrecked.
If you are reading this translation anywhere other than Novelight or SilkRoadTL, it has been stolen.
Their clothes were covered in dirt, and they all appeared to have injuries, with no part of them left untouched.
So even walked with broken arms, crying.
It felt like soone was controlling them.
[Did they just co back from fighting monsters?]
[No way, they wouldn’t have survived with that group. They’d be dead by now.]
[If that’s not the case, then what happened to them?]
[Could it be... that the rumors from earlier weren’t just rumors?]
[What? What rumors?]
[It’s...]
[No, So-hwa! Where the hell have you been?]
The manager who had been talking to So Mun-young pushed her hand away and approached Jeong So-hwa.
[How could you disappear without saying anything when sothing this big happened...! I was off today, but if sothing had happened, you should have contacted !]
Hearing this, it was clear that the commotion earlier in the day had not spread among the staff.
Seeing her colleague bla her, Jeong So-hwa bit her lip, her face pale.
[...Let's talk later.]
[What?]
[Step aside.]
Even among the sa managers, there was a hierarchy.
Jeong So-hwa, looking disheveled, climbed up to the stage set up at the corner of the plaza.
Her disciples, looking gloomy, surrounded the stage in a protective manner.
This was the sa stage where Teacher Hyunam had given his speech earlier, showing the situation outside the city just a few hours ago.
Seeing Jeong So-hwa standing on the high stage, the crowd murmured.
[It’s Jeong So-hwa. Teacher Hyunam’s most cherished disciple...]
[Yeah, yeah. She’s probably going to say sothing now. Maybe there’s been so progress with the monsters?]
[But why does she look like that?]
[Did you hear about what happened earlier?]
So Mun-young, listening to the murmurs, looked up at Jeong So-hwa.
Jeong So-hwa stood on the stage for a while, eyes tightly shut, as if enduring sothing, but suddenly, she twisted her body awkwardly and knelt down.
[What’s going on?]
[Is she convulsing?!]
People were startled, but soon Jeong So-hwa rose from the ground.
[Everyone.]
When Jeong So-hwa raised her head, an eerie light shone in her eyes.
[Today... I have sothing to say to the people of this city.]
The crowd was horrified by her strange presence, and the plaza fell into silence.
[...You are all being deceived by Teacher Hyunam!]
It was essentially a scream.
Despite the seemingly truthful tone, the words were not imdiately accepted by the crowd.
[What did you say?]
[What is she talking about?]
[Looks like that commotion earlier today was true! She’s possessed by a demon!]
[What? So the disciples are also possessed by demons...]
[That’s a lie.]
But Jeong So-hwa didn’t back down. She kept speaking.
[The outsiders are not demons. The one lying is Teacher Hyunam. All along, we have been deceiving you with him!]
[Deceiving? What do you an...]
[The reason the children suddenly fell ill is because we used cinnabar to create the formation.]
And from there, Jeong So-hwa couldn’t hold back any longer. She spilled all the secrets one by one.
The cheap cinnabar used to create the formation protecting the city.
The fact that the monsters had been created not just from the outsiders, but also from the elderly people who had died in the city.
The plaza was filled with a deafening silence at this shocking revelation.
Jeong So-hwa, of course, hadn’t wanted to do any of this.
‘That damn demon...!’
Jeong So-hwa gritted her teeth, recalling the face of the black-haired girl.
At this mont, the bloodthorn inside her body was forcing her actions.
Whenever she tried to act against the demon’s will, the bloodthorn went wild, causing indescribable pain.
At first, she tried to resist, but after going through it several tis, she couldn’t take it anymore.
That’s why she ca here, walking on her own, to spill all these truths.
Everything was according to Jeong Da-on’s plan.
[W-what is this?]
[Is this really true...?]
[My god, then what about my husband, who’s getting treatnt right now?!]
[My child is dying. Are you telling this happened because of the cinnabar you used without telling us?]
Jeong So-hwa knelt before them.
This ti, it was truly her own choice.
[...I, I... we made this choice to save as many people as possible.]
This, at least, was the truth.
At least to Jeong So-hwa.
[There was no other way. I just wanted to save as many people as I could!]
Tears stread down her face.
Whether those tears were from humiliation or from genuine regret, she couldn’t tell herself.
[We had no money, no power... we had no choice but to use this thod to survive!]
The crowd fell silent in the face of Jeong So-hwa’s sudden confession.
And Jeong So-hwa, having spilled everything, felt a sense of relief.
‘It’s for the best.’
Since the secret was already out, it was better to spill everything now.
And the people of this city would surely understand.
In such a situation, wouldn’t everyone make the sa choice?
There was no gold or power to surround this city.
But people had to be protected.
Those who could live had to live.
It was with that thought that she made this decision.
She had dedicated herself to this city, and though the shock would be great at first, people would surely understand with ti.
Just as Jeong So-hwa thought of that faint hope.
[What about then?]
The words thrown into the silence of the crowd.
[Then, does that an I’m allowed to die?!]
The one who shouted was an elderly man, an outsider, bound in the plaza.
Trembling with betrayal, the elderly man looked around with a flushed face.
He had many friends among the people.
They all avoided his gaze, even though they had once considered them saviors.
[You murderers! I was a fool to ever think of you as benefactors!]
The elderly man muttered curses as he trembled.
[You demonic creatures. You’ll surely be punished by heaven!]
“That’s exactly what I was saying.”
Jeong So-hwa felt a chill down her spine.
The chanical sound of the translation item echoed.
–Grrrr!
[U-uhhh!]
[It’s a monster! The monster’s here!]
And the owner of the voice, riding on a huge black panther, lightly jumped onto the stage.
At this point, no one in the city needed an explanation of who this girl was.
Jeong Da-on looked down at the detestable people and said.
“I told you, didn’t I? This city will pay the price for its sins.”
Tonight, the demon they had been searching for had finally arrived in the city.
Reviews
All reviews (0)