Chapter 195: A Little Pain
“It’s our land?”
Sung-Woon nodded in response to Solongos’s question.
“Yes.”
“But…there doesn't seem to be any change in the Faith points.”
“Oh, for now, yes, because Hwee-Kyung and the fake god are still connected. However…”
Sung-Woon’s gaze turned toward the screen, and the other players’ gazes followed.
***
The one who had a buffalo skull on their head, the One Who Stands Behind, stood in front of Ramin, Hwee-Kyung, and Juran.
The One Who Stands Behind said.
-Obey…me…
“The One Who Stands Behind.”
Hwee-Kyung knelt in front of the god. No, to be exact, she tried to kneel, but Ramin grabbed her waist and pulled her back up.
“What are you doing?”
“What are you doing? Let go of me.”
“I just need to prove it, right?”
“Prove what?”
“Prove that the thing in front of you isn’t a god.”
Hwee-Kyung was going to push Ramin aside, but suddenly froze. Then before she could say anything, a gunshot was heard.
Bang!
Juran had shot the One Who Stands Behind. The bullet pierced through, leaving a hole in their head, but they didn’t seem to be affected by it.
“Look at that. Nothing…”
Ramin went to Juran and took the gun.
“I’ll borrow this for a moment.”
Then the One Who Stands Behind approached Ramin.
-You are foolish.
Ramin then also began to go toward the One Who Stands Behind and continuously pulled the trigger, aiming at their body, not their head. However, the One Who Stands Behind didn’t slow down at all.
-You’re thinking about what would happen if I’m a real god.
“...If you are really Night Sky, why would you send us?”
-It’s just as that child thought. To test her.
As Ramin pulled the trigger again, a clicking noise was heard instead. There were no more bullets left.
‘Did they not go through? …No.’
Ramin had heard the bullets enter their body after the gunshots.
‘They aren’t an untouchable being, they’re just strong.’
Then the One Who Stands Behind said.
-It isn’t too late to ask for forgiveness. I misled you, so…
Then Ramin became certain, and she swung her sword. Just before Ramin's sword could touch their body, a tentacle extended from inside the One Who Stands Behind’s robe and struck Ramin’s sword. Ramin barely managed to hold onto her sword and stepped back.
The slime and tentacles made a sticky sound, and their appearance began to change.
"Oh, so was that your false identity?”
-No, it was my original form…
“So you’re going to pretend until the end, huh?”
Dozens of tentacles were visible under the One Who Stands Behind’s robe.
Ramin then quickly completed her calculations in her head.
‘It’s going to be difficult to win.’
She had spoken confidently, but she didn’t know what they were exactly, and she realized that they weren’t an opponent that an ordinary mortal could face easily.
Ramin carefully began to step back and said to Juran, “Do you think you can carry her on your back and run?”
Juran, who was inscribing a magic circle onto the collar around Hwee-Kyung’s neck with a knife, replied, “Of course.”
“Carry on his back? Who? Me?”
Juran flicked his fingers. The collar around Hwee-Kyung’s neck sputtered sparks and fell off, making a metallic clunk when it hit the ground.
Then Juran turned and showed his back to Hwee-Kyung, who had frozen in place for a moment. As Hwee-Kyung stood still and hesitated, Ramin pushed her onto his back, and Juran lifted Hwee-Kyung up.
“Run when I give you the signal.”
“Okay.”
“...Now!”
Tentacles shot out from the approaching ‘god’.
Ramin cut off the closest tentacle, leaving the two other tentacles shooting toward their targets. But this was a deception. She slightly turned around and cut off the two tentacles that were heading toward Hwee-Kyung and then rolled forward to dodge the tentacle that was coming down toward her head. Ramin then glanced and saw Juran carrying Hwee-Kyung on his back and running toward the pathway.
‘Running away won’t be enough.’
Just as the Elf Aganin had said, there could be Fang agents coming from above.
‘Even if we can’t kill them, we need to lose them…’
Tentacles approached her. Ramin’s path was blocked, and in order to avoid the tentacles, she knew she had to go back toward the inside.
-Yes, come to me.
Ramin replied, “Alright. That’s what I want too.”
Ramin jumped into the god’s arms and reached into the roots of the tentacles. She felt sticky slime and a pressure that seemed enough to crush her hand, causing intense pain.
'High viscosity liquid, completely enveloped flesh... The most optimal conditions.’
Ramin channeled her power as the chosen one. Then the tentacles that had been reaching out to strike Ramin's back contracted and straightened, then they retracted in the opposite direction.
-Ughh, uugh!
Ramin pulled out her hand that almost felt numb because of the pain.
‘Perhaps I can kill it like this…’
As she thought so and raised her sword, a hand reached out through the tentacles. Ramin quickly moved backward.
-Ughhh...ughh...
The One Who Stands Behind was letting out strange groans, but the tentacles that had retracted earlier were healing. While they turned somewhat red, their functioning didn’t seem significantly impacted.
‘Would I be able to kill it if I used all my power?’
She couldn't be sure, but she didn't think it was impossible.
'If I risk my life...'
Using Demonic Magic consumed mental energy. Even if she squeezed the tentacles together at the end, it wouldn't reach the depths of the One Who Stands Behind. Therefore, she had to get as close as possible again and channel her electricity, but she decided not to do so.
'I need to send Juran and Hwee-Kyung up.'
Before the recovered tentacles could attack Ramin, she turned and ran in the direction where Juran and Hwee-Kyung had gone.
***
By the time Ramin caught up with Juran and Hwee-Kyung, she saw Aganin and the group of laborers in the path.
Ramin shouted, "Run! Hurry!"
Aganin seemed puzzled, but when he felt something approaching from the path Ramin had come from, he shouted to the laborers, "Run everyone! ...Run, but...!"
Aganin ran over to Ramin's side.
"What is it? What's going on?"
"The One Who Stands Behind is chasing us."
"What? Oh shit."
Seeing Aganin's reaction, Ramin asked, "Did you know about the One Who Stands Behind?"
"Of course. Didn't you guys know before coming here?"
"Tell me more."
Aganin then began to explain that although it wasn't clear whether there was a definite being, some of the more faithful laborers seemed to have had the opportunity to meet the One Who Stands Behind in person.
The Supporter Sect, who believed in the One Who Stands Behind, had their faith strengthened because of Saint Hwee-Kyung, who evoked their memories, and the very real existence of One Who Stands Behind. Moreover, many of them believed the story that the One Who Stands Behind was actually Night Sky in disguise, just as Hwee-Kyung had described. They accepted the words of the One Who Stands Behind to endure their pain because they believed that the god was not able to actively help them to avoid getting caught by the Angry One.
‘Wait, then does everyone here, including Hwee-Kyung, think that the One Who Stands Behind is Night Sky?’
Before Ramin could come up with a new idea, a voice called out.
“There’s the Vampire!”
Fang agents stood waiting in front of the tunnel.
Ramin then said to Aganin, "Can you take those two and escape from here?"
"Well, there's only one entrance, but there are multiple paths leading to it, so we might be able to avoid them..."
"Then do that. And lead all the laborers you run into to escape."
Aganin seemed troubled. Leading the laborers to escape was not easy. There had been several cave-ins, so it was only natural to evacuate all the other laborers to the outside because there was the chance of the mine completely collapsing.
However, while Aganin was in the slave labor camp, he enjoyed some privileges due to his reputation with the criminal organization. If his lie were to be exposed, it could be difficult to save his life even with his connections with the managers and the security guards. So it might be better to speak up about what had happened until now. Aganin certainly thought this way, but something different came out of his mouth.
"Alright, I’ll do that."
Aganin ran toward Juran and then went into another tunnel.
'For now, I'm the one whose face is most recognizable to them,’ Ramin thought. ‘And they don't even know I've had contact with Hwee-Kyung.'
So Ramin decided to become bait.
Ramin rushed towards the Fang agents.
***
A few hours later, Ramin Solost Muel went up the wooden stairs of the vertical tunnel. She hardly looked like a person now; her entire body was covered in blood and dust, and aside from her round open eyes, she was covered in black.
Most of the blood she was covered in were from the Fang agents, security guards, and occasional managers, but some of the wounds were her own. The enemies had done their best to tie up Ramin, and about two times, she came close to being captured by the One Who Stands Behind. However, Ramin managed to overcome these situations with her power as a chosen one, the swordsmanship she had learned from her teacher, and the knowledge and wisdom she had accumulated over nearly 120 years.
The sun was rising from the east. While most species felt a bittersweetness as the day came to an end when the sun set, Vampires experienced those emotions when the sun rose. A sense of helplessness as the day ended—that was what Ramin felt.
Then someone began to clap as Ramin walked forward, exhausted.
“Impressive.”
Ramin pierced her sword into the ground and leaned against it.
The Lizardman Fang agent wearing a red mask, Del, said, "We had our doubts, but you really managed to survive. There were 40 agents and the security guards were several times that number. Really, you can't even be considered a Human."
Ramin didn’t respond and let out a dry cough. Blood splattered out from her mouth.
Behind Del, armed security guard soldiers had their rifles aimed at Ramin, and behind them stood Juran, Hwee-Kyung, and other laborers who had gotten captured. And they weren't the only ones there. Given the large gathering of security forces, it seemed that other laborers had been brought here as well. Perhaps this was going to be an example to show what would happen to those who rebelled and attempted to escape.
Ramin said, "Aren’t you going to kill me?"
Del replied, "We could finish you off ourselves, but it's necessary to prove that the One Who Stands Behind is representing your god. Wait a moment. The One Who Stands Behind is coming up. Confirm with your own body that all of this is nothing more than an accidental event testing the Saint."
Ramin glanced back for a moment. She could see the dark pit of the vertical tunnel. The One Who Stands Behind hadn't approached yet, but she knew they were coming up the stairs built along the tunnel.
Now Ramin had no strength left to even respond.
Del muttered, "Alma was worried, but...in the end, it seems your god does not value you.”
Ramin had thought the same just a moment ago, or rather, a few seconds ago. The feeling of being abandoned itself was painful. But that wasn't true.
‘...What?’
Ramin felt the hairs on her body move due to a strange static electricity wrapping around her body. It wasn't an illusion. It was a clear sensation.
Then Ramin raised her head.
"That's not it."
"What do you mean?"
"Our god is partial to dramatics as much as you do."
A blue butterfly flew between Ramin and Del.
Then Del asked as if they hadn’t even spotted the butterfly, "What are you talking about?"
“It seems our god doesn’t really care too much about the actors suffering a little bit. However…he definitely seems to create the most excellent plays.”
With those words, a bolt of lightning struck vertically down the tunnel.
Due to the blinding light, Del, the agents, as well as the security guards all covered their eyes, and the laborers ducked down in surprise.
The lightning bolt that struck down without any warning turned the wooden staircase along the vertical tunnel into flames. And from within the flames, something emerged. At first it seemed like the One Who Stands Behind, but it wasn’t.
The one emerging from the flames was a Lizardman. Dressed in golden armor, he walked through the fire without trouble and stood beside Ramin.
Then, he addressed the crowd.
"It's been a while, Lord of Automation."
Hwee-Kyung blinked as she looked at the Lizardman.
“...Lakrak?”
Del's eyes widened upon hearing the name.
Lakrak replied, “Yes. I am the first apostle of the One Who Stands Behind, Night Sky. I have come in accordance with Night Sky’s will to save those who suffer."
At those words, the laborers murmured among themselves.
“It’s just as the Saint said.”
“It really is him.”
"The day has finally come."
"We have paid for our sins."
Del muttered, "This can't be real. The One Who Stands Behind is just...someone the Angry One..."
"Don't you see?" Lakrak raised his spear. "I am the living proof!"
Then light surged.
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