My Demons

“Yes. So, leave when you still have the chance. If you back down now, I’ll spare your life.” 

A tinkling laughter echoed through the air before fading away.

Meanwhile, I became aware of the foreign substance coursing through my veins. It tore through my blood vessels and nerves, sending waves of pain throughout my body. Instinctively, I began to exert control over the flow of blood within me.

“Huh, I like your spirit. I’ll specially spare your life.”

“What? Well, then.”

“However, the Blood-soaked Swordsman must perish. It is my duty.”

Instead of a retort, the sound of a crossbow being loaded resonated through the air.

“Do you want to die for nothing? Put down your toy, fake wizard.” 

As Ellen took a small breath, preparing to say something, I opened my mouth first.

“Uwek!”

“Phoenix!”

Black blood spewed from my mouth as Poison hurled his dagger.

Struggling to gather the poison coursing through my veins, I expelled it from my body. Yet, my vision remained obscured, my stomach churned, and my head spun with dizziness.

I stumbled, using my shield to block the incoming dagger.

Thump.

Unexpectedly, Poison’s kick landed, sending me rolling helplessly across the ground.

The sound of swift footsteps accompanied a sharp whooshing noise. Gritting my teeth, I continued to roll, but I couldn’t evade his assault indefinitely.

Ugh, I can’t maintain my balance.

Perhaps due to some purification of the tainted blood, my vision began to clear slightly—damn. It seems too late, I suppose.

“Like a bug, it’s over!” he proclaimed.

And he was right. There was no escape left for me. Rolling in every direction, I found myself trapped.

Is this also the poison’s doing? I sensed death drawing near, yet my mind remained surprisingly calm.

No flicker of life passed before my eyes, no thoughts of my family, no fear or anger.

It was just a hollow emptiness.

Dying at the hands of Ubar’s subordinate, a minor character who only appeared in Chapter 2.

Yes, in a way, this is a rather tragic end for Kim Seung-Soo, an ordinary citizen who was thrust into this brutal world out of nowhere.

A faint glimmer of a sword flashed in my blurred vision.

I clenched my eyes shut.

***

As Phoenix pathetically rolled on the ground,

“Eh, ah-“

Ellen trembled, frozen in place.

She had boasted with her words, but her body remained so rigid that it refused to move.

Poison moved with inhuman speed, his eyes gleaming with merciless intent.

‘Just like last time, just like last time.’

She recalled the moment when she had saved Phoenix from the jaws of a crocodile.

She loaded a bolt into her crossbow, but she couldn’t bring herself to shoot. Her arm trembled so violently that she doubted her ability to hit the target.

Tears welled up, accompanied by a foreboding sense of despair.

It was the same feeling she experienced when her master perished.

-El, Elenar.

-Master, it’s me, Elenar. I’m here.

-Cross the river. Your destiny awaits you.

-Stop talking. Your blood… it won’t stop.

-Only you can avert the end. The descendant of Radakalin, only you.

-Please, no! Without you, I am nothing…

-You are… you are a late-blooming flower. Someday, your fragrance will encompass the entire Middle World…

Her master’s prophecy had been incorrect.

No matter how hard she tried or how fervently she struggled, Ellen could not cast a spell. When the need arose, she found herself utterly helpless.

The feeling of powerlessness forced Ellen to her knees.

“Hue, eueue…”

Just as her mind teetered on the brink of collapse, the second floor of the Bell & Whistles Inn erupted in flames.

Arnold, one of Grania’s subordinates, shot an arrow, piercing the heart of the last remaining thief within the inn.

A paralyzed thug frothed at the mouth, ceasing to breathe, and succumbing to death.

Guards, summoned by Daria, rushed towards the inn, carrying stretchers.

Phoenix, pinned against the fence, closed his eyes.

And then, an energy imprinted itself onto Ellen’s soul.

Ellen screamed.

“Phoenix, nooooo-!”

***

“Phoenix, nooooo-!”

Echoing Ellen’s cry, a thunderous ‘Bang!’ reverberated through the air.

“Cough!”

Poison, who brandished his curved sword, suddenly lost his balance, staggering.

Looking through my vision, which was gradually clearing, I witnessed an unexpected sight. Poison had blood trickling from his nose, as if he had been struck by an invisible force.

…An invisible force? A popping sound in the air?

Scraping myself off the ground, I shouted, “Ellen! Keep going!”

“What? What do you mean?” she responded, confused.

Damn, in the midst of my mental turmoil, I must have missed it. My falchion lay far away, rolling on the floor.

“Magic!”

“Magic?” she echoed, still uncertain.

“Yes! You just used magic!” 

Damn, I made a mistake. Hearing my words, Poison straightened himself and turned his attention towards Ellen. His eyes filled with murderous intent as he mumbled, “Huh, a real wizard? That girl?”

Staggering, I charged at Poison with my shield held up before me.

“Wind Fist! Keep casting!”

Catching a glimpse of Ellen, who was shedding tears and trembling, she hesitated for a moment before gathering her courage. She raised her hand towards Poison and cast a spell.

“Ventus, exaudi me! Ictum!” Ellen chanted in a melodious voice, uttering an incomprehensible incantation. In response, a gust of wind surged forth from thin air.

Then, with a popping sound, Poison’s face contorted as if struck hard by an invisible fist.

“Cough!”

Seizing the opportunity, I swiftly swung my shield at Poison, who now had blood in his mouth.

In his startled state, he managed to evade my shield. I then drew my dagger from my waist.

“Ictum!”

Another Wind Fist was cast.

Thud!

“Ah!”

Poison clutched his side, and I quickly hurled my shield towards him. He leaped and narrowly dodged the projectile, clutching it tightly.

He barely evaded the shield, which whizzed past like a spinning discus.

“Gasp!”

With my dagger in hand, I lunged at him.

My intention was to utilize my overwhelming strength to swiftly subdue him and drive the blade into his throat.

If Ellen continued to provide support, success seemed within reach.

But damn it. The poison had not been completely neutralized. As I leaped, my vision blurred, and I lost my balance.

I rolled in the wrong direction and scrambled to my feet, anticipating a counterattack. However…

“… Huh?”

The expected counterattack never came. Instead of attacking me, Poison used his nimble movements to climb onto the roof of a nearby building.

‘…Is that bastard trying to escape?’

Damn it, I cannot let him get away after all the trouble we’ve gone through! If he fully recovers, I’ll face endless problems!

“Ellen! We need to catch him!”

“But he’s out of range. Wind Fist can only reach where I can control it.”

“Shoot a Firebolt or a Flame Arrow!”

“Flame Arrow?”

“Yes! Quickly!”

“But I…”

Ellen hesitated for a moment, her expression unsure. Then, she closed her mouth, took a deep breath, and began to chant.

“Influ-unt flammae, Ignis-“

As she chanted, a small flame ignited on Ellen’s slender fingertip.

The spark rapidly grew into a flame, eventually taking the form of a long arrowhead.

“Hurry up! We’re losing him!”

Dumbfounded, Ellen stared at the flame, but at my urging, she raised her hand and aimed it at Poison.

“Satus!”

Boom!

With Ellen’s incantation, a fiery arrow tore through the sky.

While it was not as swift as an arrow shot from a real bow, it moved considerably faster than a running person.

It was fast enough to strike Poison, who was leaping towards a dead-end building.

Thud!

“Uh!” The flaming arrow embedded deeply into Poison’s waist, igniting a blaze upon impact. Struck by the fiery arrow in mid-air, Poison lost his balance and plummeted.

Crash!

His waist was impaled on a wall, covered in arrowheads the size of palms.

“Ugh! Uh-“

Poison flailed his limbs a few times while suspended, then slumped.

…A man who had pushed me to the brink of death met such a trivial end. I couldn’t decide whether to feel relieved or saddened by it.

“I, I…”

Turning around, Ellen was on her knees, gazing down at her palms.

She trembled slightly, clenched her fists cautiously, and then looked up at me with tearful eyes.

“Is this… is this a dream?”

“What?”

“I… I used magic.”

Ellen wept tears of both bitterness and joy, her smile shining brightly. I smirked and extended a hand to help her up.

“Yes, I saw it too. Congratulations, kid.”

“Phoenix.”

I pulled the whimpering child to her feet, offering a forced smile.

“Save the tears for later. Let’s get out of here first. The building might collapse.”

Ellen, on the verge of saying something, tightly sealed her lips, holding back her tears.

***

Contrary to my worries, the inn didn’t collapse completely.

The wooden beams, reeking of salt, caught fire, creating a billowing cloud of smoke. However, the damp and decaying floorboards were not so easily ignited.

The flames burned fiercely, likely due to the potency of Ellen’s fire.

Fortunately, Daria arrived with the guards, swiftly extinguishing the fire.

The inn remained with one staircase completely burnt and half of the second floor reduced to ashes.

Though soot and the stench of char permeated the air, with some cleaning and repairs, it would regain its former appearance.

While dragging out the bodies from the inn, I took a moment to stretch.

“Phew.”

Arranging the corpses of both the attackers and the victims, I estimated that around forty people had lost their lives.

‘Ubar, you bastard.’

As I clenched my teeth in silence, surveying the lifeless bodies, I suddenly noticed the innkeeper.

Beside him, a young servant lay motionless.

The middle-aged man, with exhaustion etched on his face, wiped the ash off his hands using the inside of his apron, then gently closed the boy’s eyes.

“He must have found peace, sir.”

“Yes, he was a good lad.”

I approached quietly, placing a comforting hand on the innkeeper’s shoulder. He responded with a sorrowful smile, grasping my hand.

“I’m truly sorry about the fire. If there’s anything I can do-“

“No, no. It’s not your fault. It was an unavoidable situation.”

The innkeeper let out a heavy sigh, rising to his feet as he continued to speak.

“I don’t blame you. Thanks to the sudden fire, the mercenaries bought us some time. If it weren’t for that fire, I might be among the deceased by now.”

“……”

“So, please don’t feel guilty.” With those words, the innkeeper turned his charred gaze toward the guardsmen.

Some of the guardsmen diligently moved the bodies, while others clustered together, engaged in conversation.

“The church will be furious again. The cemetery is almost full.”

“Why don’t we hand over the drifters to the undertaker?”

“The undertaker? Ah, the old man? Is it right to burden someone who’s been in town for such a short time?”

“Who cares. It’s better than getting scolded and ripped off by the priests.”

It was disheartening to witness the unfortunate incident at the inn being treated as a burdensome chore. However, I realized that these individuals were likely enduring their own hardships.

Just today, there had been around ten serious crimes committed in a city with a population of only ten thousand. At this rate, it wouldn’t be long before Detroit seemed like paradise.

But even amidst this chaos, the deaths of nearly forty people were undeniably a grave matter.

This was evident from the fact that even the lord, who also served as the captain of the South Harbor Guard, had personally intervened.

Observing the plump guardsman, cheeks bulging like a fat bulldog, the innkeeper muttered quietly.

“If only those lazy bastards had arrived a little earlier.”

Before the guardsmen could catch wind of the innkeeper’s discontent, I quickly patted his back.

“You must be tired, sir. Take some rest. I’ll open the upstairs window. The wind is pleasant, and it will help dissipate the smell of smoke.”

“Yes, that sounds good.”

As the innkeeper, weariness etched across his face, nodded and retreated into the inn, I made my way toward the well.

Among the scattered debris near the well, Ellen sat, leaning against a toppled table, her eyes closed. Despite the surrounding chaos, her trance-like state intrigued me.

It’s interesting, but while others toil to tidy up the inn, she seems utterly unconcerned.

I’m tempted to say something, but I hold back. It’s not unreasonable for her to be immersed in her success; after all, she has finally achieved the magic she yearned for.

And besides… sigh, she’s still just a child, isn’t she? I can’t blame her for having a limited perspective.

With that in mind, I sighed and prepared to sit beside Ellen.