Chapter 138
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Chapter 138
She gestured toward the pillar, looking at Kaiden.
"Seal it for me."
"Give me your hand."
Enoch reluctantly stepped back.
Kaiden took Margaret's hand and traced a magical circle in the air. A bluish light followed the path of his finger as he drew through the void.
Soon the completed magical circle manifested along the lines. The magical energy split into two streams—one seeping into the wooden pillar where Enoch's group stood, the other into the pillar across the way.
"Rodban crosses first, then Margaret. We can't afford to leave anyone behind."
Everyone agreed with Enoch's words and lined up before the rope in turn.
"Be careful."
Margaret called out words of caution to Kaiden, who was departing first. Kaiden smiled with ease, assured her not to worry, and set off ahead.
Fortunately, Kaiden crossed safely to the other side.
"Both of you, please be careful."
Margaret spoke with a worried expression, turning to look at Rujeep and Enoch. The Silver Earthworm hanging from her body flicked its tongue as it watched them.
The one I was most concerned about wasn't them—it was Margaret. Whether she sensed my feelings or not, she offered words of caution before setting off first.
Only when I saw her arrive safely on the other side did I let out a breath of relief and shed my worry.
After Rujeep crossed safely, it was when Enoch, going last, had made it halfway across while suspended from the rope.
Thud-thud-thud-thud-thud—
An ominous sound of something moving echoed from below the cliff. The interior of the cave trembled.
"Enoch! Hurry! Hurry!"
Along with Margaret's urgent cry, the form of a centipede-like Monster climbing up the cliff came into view. It was enormous—the size of two or three adult men's bodies combined.
The centipede, springing up from below the cliff, severed the rope in half with its body. Enoch instinctively gripped the severed rope tightly.
"Enoch!"
With Margaret's scream, I plummeted downward.
But because I didn't release the rope, I managed to barely cling to life, suspended from the cliff.
From above the cliff, I could see Margaret, Kaiden, and Rujeep pulling the rope together.
Then, something gleamed beneath my feet.
My gaze was drawn downward, and through the darkness of the cliff below, I glimpsed what appeared to be a brilliant Flower Field.
'...Is this an illusion?'
In the middle of the Flower Field lay a person, and that person bore a striking resemblance to Diego.
'I should tell Margaret about this.'
"Enoch! Enoch!"
Only then did I lift my head. Margaret, her face streaked with tears, called out to me with a voice like a sob.
Climbing the cliff wasn't particularly difficult. But seeing Margaret's face twisted in despair, a strange satisfaction swept through my entire being.
Margaret was crying for me. I felt so good it was almost unfair to her. I wished she would cry even more for me.
I realized I harbored such unsettling and sadistic tendencies within myself, and I was taken aback. Yet my mind endlessly churned with the desire to make Margaret weep and look only at me.
She would leave for another world wearing that expression? I could never accept it.
Then I saw Kaiden preparing to use magic by borrowing Margaret's mana.
I hurried to climb the cliff. Scaling the rope wasn't particularly difficult—I couldn't waste Margaret's mana on such a task.
Having climbed the cliff without difficulty, I exhaled a sigh and rubbed my stiff neck.
The moment his feet touched the ground, Margaret rushed forward and embraced him. Her body trembled as she wrapped her arms around his back.
Enoch, who had dismissed what happened moments before as trivial, now felt a pang of guilt for worrying her. He extended his arms and pulled her into his embrace.
Margaret weeping for him was intoxicating, but I still hated seeing her suffer.
"I understand you came back from the brink of death, but could you please stop being so affectionate in front of me? I'm genuinely getting twisted up about it."
Kaiden, who had been watching them, spoke with an expression of barely restrained patience. Only then did Margaret pull away from Enoch, embarrassed.
Enoch gazed at Margaret with a reluctant expression for a moment before looking down below the Cliff. There were more pressing matters to attend to now.
As we climbed back up to the top of the Cliff, the bottom below was shrouded in darkness and invisible. However, I had to share with the group what I'd seen—a shape that resembled Diego.
After hearing my account, the group decided not to venture further into the Cave but instead to descend below the Cliff first.
Though I knew there was no other choice, I couldn't shake the feeling that something was unfolding in a peculiar way.
It felt somewhat ominous.
* * *
I've done rock climbing before. During my time as Jin-ju Lee, I enjoyed quite a few sports as hobbies, and climbing was one of them.
From what Enoch said, the Cliff wasn't as deep as I'd feared. Fortunately, there was a wooden post firmly embedded in the stone floor—perfect for securing a rope.
I gathered all the rope I had. I needed to tie it around my body and descend.
"You're really going down?"
Rujeep asked with a reluctant expression, his brow furrowed.
"Even if we continue forward, we don't know what we'll find. We're not even certain there's an exit. And above all, we came here to find Diego."
"I apologize. My thinking was short-sighted."
Rujeep quickly apologized, his voice tinged with guilt.
"I don't understand why you let Margaret's words manipulate you so easily."
As Kaiden clicked his tongue and muttered this, Rujeep's face grew tense, but he glanced at me and quietly closed his mouth.
Since we needed to find Diego as quickly as possible, we moved with urgency. I wrapped the rope I'd made around my waist, and together we descended the Cliff.
Once we'd fully descended below the Cliff, there was indeed a Flower Field, just as Enoch had said.
Wondering if it might be some form of Tentationem, we first held our noses tightly shut. Fortunately, it turned out to be an ordinary flower, not a poisonous bloom.
"Still, don't let your guard down."
Kaiden warned me after seeing my expression. I nodded and carefully scanned the surroundings again.
But I couldn't find Diego lying in the Flower Field that Enoch had seen.
"Could you have seen an illusion?"
Kaiden asked Enoch with a puzzled expression.
"Perhaps. It could have been an illusion."
Enoch answered thus, stroking his chin as he swept his gaze across the surroundings with a thoughtful expression.
"But can we say the spirits the Bishop saw right before Diego disappeared were illusions? If I witnessed a similar phenomenon, then we need to investigate what it was."
Enoch was right. With Diego's exact location unknown, any clue—no matter what it was—deserved our attention.
* * *
Through the eyes of the centipede-like Monster, Jenath confirmed the location of Margaret's group.
They appeared to be in the Cave heading toward 'that place'.
Soon something interesting would unfold. The end of The Experiment was drawing near.
Jenath, wearing the appearance of a young boy, opened the door to the Room of Rest with a somewhat excited expression. He could see the chair placed on the magic circle and Anata, sealed and sitting in it.
Jenath offered her a coconut. Anata, lifting her head with difficulty, saw the coconut and scowled fiercely.
"Aren't you hungry?"
At his casual question, Anata lifted her head. Jenath's handsome face came into view.
She clenched her teeth and spoke to her only brother.
"Jenath, you have to crack it open before you can eat it."
"I'll feed you."
When Jenath's innocent reply came back, Anata let out a hollow laugh.
"Hey. You're really going to do this?"
"Anata."
Jenath cracked open a coconut with his small hands. It was a display of strength impossible to imagine from someone who looked like a child. He thrust one of the cracked coconuts toward Anata's lips.
"Don't be stubborn. Drink it. I'm hurt."
"Don't talk nonsense about being hurt. Stop it already."
This lunatic.
Though I had no right to say it, I muttered irritably, swallowing back my words.
At her words, Jenath's movements stopped. The faint smile that had been playing at his lips slowly faded, and his crimson eyes flashed.
"Stop...? Is that something you should say?"
The coconut Jenath had been holding dropped to the ground with a thud, rolling across the magic circle.
At the sight of madness glinting in Jenath's eyes like a taste of blood, Anata bit her lips hard. She knew she'd touched a nerve, but she had no intention of taking back what she'd said.
She was truly exhausted. She wanted to stop killing people—truly stop. She never imagined he would drag even her descendants into this.
Anata still possessed some sense of ethics. Jenath, however, did not seem to.
She glared at Jenath with venomous eyes.
"If The Experiment truly succeeds, we'll only give those bastards good work. You know that."
Those bastards—the ones outside, living in comfort while feeding sacrifices through the barrier as the designers of The Experiment went mad trapped on the Island.
"I am Jenas Igran Rohade."
Jenath's eyes were utterly arrogant. He tilted his head mockingly, looking down at her.
Like a god gazing upon insignificant mortals.
"I have a countermeasure."
Jenath spoke in a leisurely tone, then watched Anata's reaction for a moment. She narrowed her brows and pressed her lips shut.
"Trust me."
At Jenath's following words, Anata finally burst with anger.
"How can I trust you? You keep asking me to break the seal?!"
"It's for your sake."
Jenath slowly knelt down before her.
"Anata, you're bewitched by the test subjects right now."
Looking up at her from below, he spoke almost pitifully, like a sorrowful puppy. Anata was at a loss for words.
"That's not right."
Jenath continued slowly, coaxing Anata further.
"You're not in a state where you can make rational judgments right now."
"You've made contact with them too. Aren't you the same?"
I don't know how Jenath took her question, but he fell silent with an unreadable expression.
Yet from that brief reaction, Anata became certain.
Jenath had definitely developed an interest in Flone Young Lady.
A soul from another Dimension—Margaret and yet not Margaret. That very alienness was precisely the sort of thing that would capture Jenath's interest.
Just as I suspected. I knew it. Jenath would absolutely take notice of her.
Anata suppressed the smile threatening to bloom across her lips as she spoke to Jenath.
"Think carefully. Are you truly certain it isn't you?"
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Brought to you by Valir Scans! To support our team and enjoy the latest releases, please read directly on our official site: valirscans.org
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