Shadin dropped a drop of fly poison into the boiling water.
Now, just one drop wasn't enough to relieve the pain coming up from his legs. But if he added more, he might meet Judith in a dazed state.
Shadin pondered over how to bring Judith here. Originally, he had planned to kidnap Henry and then use him as an excuse to bring her here.
But how did Judith know and come all the way here? And with such a small group of people.
“At this point, I feel like heaven is helping me.”
Crazy bastard. Henry muttered to himself as he lay down. The steam coming out of the pot made him feel dizzy for some reason, so Henry gritted his teeth.
“We sacrifice Sir Henry to open his will and plant it inside Judith. We’re going to make her possessed.”
In the process, Shadin may have to give up something. It could be a healthy leg or two eyes. In the past, he didn't like that, so he avoided the Followers uprising. But now, he thinks, whatever.
If he stays like this, he will eventually die from the wounds crawling up his legs.
What Shadin was trying to send to Judith that day was a blood-boiling curse. When the curse is properly activated, the blood actually becomes hot and burns the skin from the inside out.
The curse, although incurable, did not expand its scope. However, as the curse returned, something went wrong, and Shadin's wounds grew larger.
But this only applies to the physical body. If the body gets sick, isn't it something you can just change?
After all, this body itself was not originally his.
“I’m going to do necromancy like I did in Erne’s time.”
The soul summoned through necromancy will listen to the sorcerer's commands.
The daughter is a powerful medium who remains in the history of the Shartin tribe. Since spiritual power is the power of the soul, if the soul remains, then the power will remain as well.
If that's the case, then it would be possible for the daughter to transfer her soul to another body. If it can only be transferred upon death, then death is the end of it.
“The body I will enter will be brought by Judith.”
“Ugh, ugh!”
“Who is it? Who could it be, Judith? There must be only one person who can come here.”
Shadin chuckled. But that wasn't what Henry had meant. He wanted to tell Shadin to look behind him. At the jar containing his will.
I searched the room and found a candle, lit it, and went into the basement.
The basement door was open and the stairs were pitch black as if someone was maliciously hoping that you would slip and fall down these stairs.
'Slowly, one step at a time, without touching anything.'
I covered my nose and mouth with a handkerchief, and never touched the walls, even when it was dark all around. This was because Smith had told me that the venom of the deformed fly was paralyzing to the touch.
'There's no way they didn't spread poison here and there.'
I slowly descended the stairs. Ironically, the inside of the cellar was brighter than the stairs.
Candles were strewn about, the floor and walls were painted with geometric patterns, and in the middle of it all lay Henry, his arms and legs bound.
“Ugh, ugh, ugh.”
Henry, who had discovered me, struggled. Judging from the strange slowness of his movements, it seemed that the poison had not yet worn off.
“Sir Henry!”
Do you know? I even cleaned the blood stains with Lux. I pretended to mop.
“You destroyed evidence unintentionally. Even if I had reported it, my testimony wouldn’t have been of much use.”
There was also a good chance that the police wouldn't believe it.
“You installed fake CCTV to save money? You’re crazy. There’s no other way to save money. In this day and age.”
Shadin clicked his tongue. I frowned, not wanting to hear such things from Shadin alone.
“Why did you run away after helping me destroy the evidence? If you had told me the truth, neither of us would be here.”
“That’s why I came back.”
I came all the way here to catch you.
“This time I’m definitely going to send you to jail.”
“Oh, you have a corner of faith? Who, Sir Erne?”
Shadin sneered.
“Are there other people coming in besides Sir Erne? Oh, did you save Mr. Smith?”
Although it was hard to see from where I was, I felt as if Shadin was smiling.
“I guess Sir Erne is dealing with the scatterflies since you came down alone. Honestly, this is unexpected and difficult.”
Tsk, Shadin clicked his tongue.
“I was planning to enter Erne’s body, but if I’m not careful, I might have to find another body.”
“What the heck is that?”
“No, I’m going to open this now.”
Shadin tapped the jar in front of him.
“But to open this, we need a lot of sacrifices.”
Even if he wrote to Judith and asked her to come alone to rescue Henry, it was obvious that she would not come alone.
Shadin wasn't so stupid as to not have expected that.
“Everyone will become a sacrifice.”
"What?"
“Everyone in this building is a sacrifice.”
Shadin planned to sacrifice everyone. He went around the building from time to time, drawing spells so that he could use them as sacrifices no matter where he was in the building.
“Priest, Ma’am, I’m sorry to interrupt you with such serious talk, but, please, look at this.”
Henry, who had been silent, stirred.
“Look at that thing. Um, isn’t it moving?”
The eyes of Shadin and Judith, who had been glued to each other without leaving each other, turned simultaneously to his will. Only the lid, that inanimate object that could not possibly move, was shaking on its own.
As if asking me to open it quickly.
“...Was this planned?”
“No, that never happened.”
Shadin spoke frankly.
“I guess I memorized the order pretty well. It looks like you’re already eager to come out. Well, it doesn’t matter. Everything you need is right here.”
At the sound of the incantation recited behind the low, giggling laughter, the darkness that had been huddled in the corner of the basement began to stir.
Like a coiled snake trying to escape, a materialized shadow swayed toward Judith and Henry, and beyond the stairs, the sound of doors closing was intermingled with the sound of an alien explosion.
As Henry and Judith held each other's hands in anxiety, the fallen door pressed down on the stretching darkness.
“They do all sorts of things.”
It was Erne.
Now, just one drop wasn't enough to relieve the pain coming up from his legs. But if he added more, he might meet Judith in a dazed state.
Shadin pondered over how to bring Judith here. Originally, he had planned to kidnap Henry and then use him as an excuse to bring her here.
But how did Judith know and come all the way here? And with such a small group of people.
“At this point, I feel like heaven is helping me.”
Crazy bastard. Henry muttered to himself as he lay down. The steam coming out of the pot made him feel dizzy for some reason, so Henry gritted his teeth.
“We sacrifice Sir Henry to open his will and plant it inside Judith. We’re going to make her possessed.”
In the process, Shadin may have to give up something. It could be a healthy leg or two eyes. In the past, he didn't like that, so he avoided the Followers uprising. But now, he thinks, whatever.
If he stays like this, he will eventually die from the wounds crawling up his legs.
What Shadin was trying to send to Judith that day was a blood-boiling curse. When the curse is properly activated, the blood actually becomes hot and burns the skin from the inside out.
The curse, although incurable, did not expand its scope. However, as the curse returned, something went wrong, and Shadin's wounds grew larger.
But this only applies to the physical body. If the body gets sick, isn't it something you can just change?
After all, this body itself was not originally his.
“I’m going to do necromancy like I did in Erne’s time.”
The soul summoned through necromancy will listen to the sorcerer's commands.
The daughter is a powerful medium who remains in the history of the Shartin tribe. Since spiritual power is the power of the soul, if the soul remains, then the power will remain as well.
If that's the case, then it would be possible for the daughter to transfer her soul to another body. If it can only be transferred upon death, then death is the end of it.
“The body I will enter will be brought by Judith.”
“Ugh, ugh!”
“Who is it? Who could it be, Judith? There must be only one person who can come here.”
Shadin chuckled. But that wasn't what Henry had meant. He wanted to tell Shadin to look behind him. At the jar containing his will.
***
I searched the room and found a candle, lit it, and went into the basement.
The basement door was open and the stairs were pitch black as if someone was maliciously hoping that you would slip and fall down these stairs.
'Slowly, one step at a time, without touching anything.'
I covered my nose and mouth with a handkerchief, and never touched the walls, even when it was dark all around. This was because Smith had told me that the venom of the deformed fly was paralyzing to the touch.
'There's no way they didn't spread poison here and there.'
I slowly descended the stairs. Ironically, the inside of the cellar was brighter than the stairs.
Candles were strewn about, the floor and walls were painted with geometric patterns, and in the middle of it all lay Henry, his arms and legs bound.
“Ugh, ugh, ugh.”
Henry, who had discovered me, struggled. Judging from the strange slowness of his movements, it seemed that the poison had not yet worn off.
“Sir Henry!”
I ran to Henry.
“I’ll let you go soon, so bear with it.”
“Ugh, ugh!”
Henry let out a ragged breath as I untied the gag from his mouth first.
“Priest, Ma’am, look, look, look.”
Henry, his mouth still slightly open, stammered and pointed deep into the basement.
In a place illuminated only by the flickering shadow of a candle, the silhouette of a person sitting cross-legged was visible.
A person who constantly mutters something in a voice so small that you can't even understand what they're saying.
I only saw it in passing, but how could I forget this face?
I stared straight at Shadin. In the darkness, bright yellow eyes met mine. After a heavy silence like a rock, the first words were,
"Hey."
Hey, it was. 'Hey.' filled with annoyance and contempt.
"Hey?"
Shadin burst into laughter as if he was taken aback by my short words.
“Hey? How old are you?”
“What if I’m just a few years old? And I’m older than you now. You’re eighteen.”
“We shouldn’t judge by age here. How old were you in your past life?”
“What would you do if you knew? If I were older, you would treat me like an elder, right?”
“Tell me, I’ll do it. Then just pretend to be younger than me.”
...Excuse me, guys, does that matter in this situation? Henry rolled his eyes, still sprawled on the floor.
“How can a person be so rude? Just saying ‘Yah’ all of a sudden, I’m really annoyed. Isn’t that right, Sir Henry?”
“A murderer sits here and thinks of manners. Isn’t that funny, Sir Henry?”
Could you please excuse me, you two? I feel like I just want to lie here until Erne comes.
Henry wanted to shake his head if he could move.
“Do you think I kill just anyone? That’s why you’re interfering with me. I’m the one who cleans up this world.”
“Oh my, you must be so foolish.”
As I taunted, another burst of incredulous laughter flowed from the other side.
“You did such a good job, so how did you end up here?”
“Why are you saying that when you came here together? Are you trying to smear my face with your own hands or something?”
"Yes."
I wanted to tell Shadin this when I met him.
“Have you ever wondered why I chase after you and take pictures of you?”
“I have a feeling.”
When Shadin was a teenager, he was on his way out of a crime when he encountered a patrol car. He had made a mistake that day and was covered in blood.
It was too far to get home, the police got out of the patrol car, and he heard the radio. As a last resort, he went to the coin laundry he saw and put all his bloody clothes in it.
“Where did the blood appear? You must have checked the CCTV after seeing the bloodstains. So you recognized me and chased me as soon as you saw me in front of the author’s house? You’re going to report me by collecting the pictures and CCTV footage you took.”
“The report is correct, but there is no CCTV footage.”
"What?"
“They're all fake except for the one at our dry cleaners, which I faked to save money. The only CCTV that works is the one at the top of my head.”
“I’ll let you go soon, so bear with it.”
“Ugh, ugh!”
Henry let out a ragged breath as I untied the gag from his mouth first.
“Priest, Ma’am, look, look, look.”
Henry, his mouth still slightly open, stammered and pointed deep into the basement.
In a place illuminated only by the flickering shadow of a candle, the silhouette of a person sitting cross-legged was visible.
A person who constantly mutters something in a voice so small that you can't even understand what they're saying.
I only saw it in passing, but how could I forget this face?
I stared straight at Shadin. In the darkness, bright yellow eyes met mine. After a heavy silence like a rock, the first words were,
"Hey."
Hey, it was. 'Hey.' filled with annoyance and contempt.
"Hey?"
Shadin burst into laughter as if he was taken aback by my short words.
“Hey? How old are you?”
“What if I’m just a few years old? And I’m older than you now. You’re eighteen.”
“We shouldn’t judge by age here. How old were you in your past life?”
“What would you do if you knew? If I were older, you would treat me like an elder, right?”
“Tell me, I’ll do it. Then just pretend to be younger than me.”
...Excuse me, guys, does that matter in this situation? Henry rolled his eyes, still sprawled on the floor.
“How can a person be so rude? Just saying ‘Yah’ all of a sudden, I’m really annoyed. Isn’t that right, Sir Henry?”
“A murderer sits here and thinks of manners. Isn’t that funny, Sir Henry?”
Could you please excuse me, you two? I feel like I just want to lie here until Erne comes.
Henry wanted to shake his head if he could move.
“Do you think I kill just anyone? That’s why you’re interfering with me. I’m the one who cleans up this world.”
“Oh my, you must be so foolish.”
As I taunted, another burst of incredulous laughter flowed from the other side.
“You did such a good job, so how did you end up here?”
“Why are you saying that when you came here together? Are you trying to smear my face with your own hands or something?”
"Yes."
I wanted to tell Shadin this when I met him.
“Have you ever wondered why I chase after you and take pictures of you?”
“I have a feeling.”
When Shadin was a teenager, he was on his way out of a crime when he encountered a patrol car. He had made a mistake that day and was covered in blood.
It was too far to get home, the police got out of the patrol car, and he heard the radio. As a last resort, he went to the coin laundry he saw and put all his bloody clothes in it.
“Where did the blood appear? You must have checked the CCTV after seeing the bloodstains. So you recognized me and chased me as soon as you saw me in front of the author’s house? You’re going to report me by collecting the pictures and CCTV footage you took.”
“The report is correct, but there is no CCTV footage.”
"What?"
“They're all fake except for the one at our dry cleaners, which I faked to save money. The only CCTV that works is the one at the top of my head.”
Do you know? I even cleaned the blood stains with Lux. I pretended to mop.
“You destroyed evidence unintentionally. Even if I had reported it, my testimony wouldn’t have been of much use.”
There was also a good chance that the police wouldn't believe it.
“You installed fake CCTV to save money? You’re crazy. There’s no other way to save money. In this day and age.”
Shadin clicked his tongue. I frowned, not wanting to hear such things from Shadin alone.
“Why did you run away after helping me destroy the evidence? If you had told me the truth, neither of us would be here.”
“That’s why I came back.”
I came all the way here to catch you.
“This time I’m definitely going to send you to jail.”
“Oh, you have a corner of faith? Who, Sir Erne?”
Shadin sneered.
“Are there other people coming in besides Sir Erne? Oh, did you save Mr. Smith?”
Although it was hard to see from where I was, I felt as if Shadin was smiling.
“I guess Sir Erne is dealing with the scatterflies since you came down alone. Honestly, this is unexpected and difficult.”
Tsk, Shadin clicked his tongue.
“I was planning to enter Erne’s body, but if I’m not careful, I might have to find another body.”
“What the heck is that?”
“No, I’m going to open this now.”
Shadin tapped the jar in front of him.
“But to open this, we need a lot of sacrifices.”
Even if he wrote to Judith and asked her to come alone to rescue Henry, it was obvious that she would not come alone.
Shadin wasn't so stupid as to not have expected that.
“Everyone will become a sacrifice.”
"What?"
“Everyone in this building is a sacrifice.”
Shadin planned to sacrifice everyone. He went around the building from time to time, drawing spells so that he could use them as sacrifices no matter where he was in the building.
“Priest, Ma’am, I’m sorry to interrupt you with such serious talk, but, please, look at this.”
Henry, who had been silent, stirred.
“Look at that thing. Um, isn’t it moving?”
The eyes of Shadin and Judith, who had been glued to each other without leaving each other, turned simultaneously to his will. Only the lid, that inanimate object that could not possibly move, was shaking on its own.
As if asking me to open it quickly.
“...Was this planned?”
“No, that never happened.”
Shadin spoke frankly.
“I guess I memorized the order pretty well. It looks like you’re already eager to come out. Well, it doesn’t matter. Everything you need is right here.”
At the sound of the incantation recited behind the low, giggling laughter, the darkness that had been huddled in the corner of the basement began to stir.
Like a coiled snake trying to escape, a materialized shadow swayed toward Judith and Henry, and beyond the stairs, the sound of doors closing was intermingled with the sound of an alien explosion.
As Henry and Judith held each other's hands in anxiety, the fallen door pressed down on the stretching darkness.
“They do all sorts of things.”
It was Erne.
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