SWNOVELXO Chapter 216
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‘…No.’
I shook my head while watching the suddenly appearing unidentified intruder.
Of course, I couldn’t afford to get distracted with the intruder right in front of me, so I kept it to myself.
“Who…?”
Da-eun, sensing the unexpected change, hesitated to approach—
“Kana, do you know him—”
“Don’t come near.”
“Uh, uh?”
She couldn’t hide her panic at my warning.
I confirmed that Da-eun had stepped back hesitantly and took another look at the intruder.
A man with no particularly distinctive features.
His face was distinctly different from the angelic face I had seen when I visited Edel.
However, the sense of discomfort I felt was not merely about his appearance.
“…”
An angel, silently staring at me.
…Or rather, a figure that looked like an angel.
But if one looked closely, you could tell that the man’s eyes weren’t actually looking at me.
His eyes appeared empty, devoid of even a glimmer of light that a living organism should have.
As I stared into those eyes, an unpleasant sensation began to rise from deep within me.
“When did this place become a world where corpses walk around?”
With that short murmur, I swung my arm.
Naturally, the sword I held in my hand moved along with it.
Swoosh—
I heard the sound of flesh being sliced, and the man’s head soared towards the sky.
“…Huh?”
A foolish sound escaped Da-eun’s mouth as she stood at a distance, watching.
“Did, did he die…? For real…?”
Her voice was filled with fear.
Caught off guard by her unexpected reaction, I narrowed my brows slightly.
Why was she surprised?
It’s not like this was the first time we’d seen someone die…
“…Huh?”
Just as that thought crossed my mind, I realized the blind spot I hadn’t noticed.
While Silia was a reality to me, it wasn’t to Da-eun.
While I now recognized that Silia was more than just a game, it was unlikely that Da-eun would suddenly see and feel things the way I did.
Especially given that those from Earth connected to Silia were under the protection of Edel.
In short, just because I had seen people die a few times in that world didn’t mean it’d feel familiar to her here.
‘Especially not when someone’s head gets chopped off like that.’
Realizing my blunder, I sighed.
Maybe I should have handled it a bit less dramatically.
But there was no use regretting what was already done; I needed to make amends, even if it was late, and took a step forward.
Yuki, who was beside Da-eun, also seemed quite flustered, but compared to Da-eun, she appeared relatively calm.
No matter how much of a berserker she was, she was still essentially a modern person who had grown up peacefully.
Still, it was fortunate that there was at least one person to calm her down.
“Ugh, uah…”
“Da-eun.”
“Ughh…”
“Da-eun.”
“…Huh?”
Noticing that I wasn’t getting through to her in her panic, I called her name firmly, and her dazed eyes began to regain focus.
I didn’t stop there; I carefully took her hand into mine.
Shiver!
Da-eun flinched slightly but didn’t pull her hand away.
Even though I wasn’t holding it tightly enough for her to easily take it back with just a little force.
“Calm down.”
“But, just now, that person over there…”
“When I saw it, I didn’t see anyone like that.”
“…What do you mean?”
Without any further ado, I turned Da-eun’s gaze towards me.
She was hesitant to look, as if she feared seeing the horror before her. But when I squeezed her hand gently, her head slowly turned.
Her eyes, revealing that she didn’t want to show reluctance, landed on the spot where the man had been.
“…Huh?”
Once again, the foolish sound she had uttered earlier escaped her lips.
“He’s… gone?”
“I told you. There was no one like that.”
“No, no, I definitely saw it… His head was in the air…”
“If that were the case, it would have been covered in blood.”
It’s easy to sever flesh without blood gushing out.
If I had used the power of Crimson Aegis to slice his neck while simultaneously cauterizing the wound, there wouldn’t have been blood at the severed edge even after some time. However…
Without any mana, just cutting him with the sword would surely have left the gymnasium floor stained red by the blood that would have poured from the corpse.
Assuming, of course, that I had actually killed a person.
“Uh…”
There was nothing left in the spot where the man had been.
Not even a trace of blood or a corpse.
Seeing that, Da-eun rubbed her eyes.
But that wouldn’t change anything.
“What on earth happened?”
Da-eun surely thought, ‘Did I just have a dream?’ but instead, Yuki, who had regained her composure, asked.
“I don’t know either.”
Regrettably, I didn’t have enough information to answer Yuki’s question.
That said, I wasn’t completely at a loss for words.
“I know that whatever that was, it wasn’t a person. Well, I won’t argue if you say it looked like a person.”
Which one are you leaning towards?
I gave Yuki a look that conveyed that thought, and she nodded as if she understood.
“I was watching. The corpse disappearing in an instant.”
“Good stomach for it.”
Still, it looked like a person at first glance.
Hearing her say she had witnessed the entire process made me click my tongue.
The man I had sliced…
He carried the divine power of Edel.
That’s why I initially mistook him for an angel under Edel’s command.
But upon closer inspection, the essence of the man was completely different from what I knew.
Unlike the angels who were overflowing with divine power, the man was as empty inside as a hollow can.
“…Tsk.”
Perhaps he really was an angel of Edel.
But whatever he had been before, when he appeared before me, he was already dead.
Thus, the moment I severed his neck, he vanished without leaving even a corpse behind.
“Something must have happened.”
Whether it was sent by Edel or not, it wasn’t normal for something like that to appear right in front of me.
I drew my mana and spread it around.
The mana I had spread over a considerable distance informed me that there were no similar beings nearby.
So it seemed these things hadn’t suddenly sprung up everywhere.
If that were the case, it was highly likely that he had come seeking me for a reason.
“I need to go.”
“…Huh? Where are you going?”
“Where else?”
Once I realized the truth, Da-eun seemed to regain a semblance of calm, and she asked.
I answered while shaking the Crimson Aegis sheathed at my side.
“I got an invitation, so I must respond.”
The sender of the invitation was unknown, the location of the party was also unknown, the date of the party was unknown.
Even whether this was genuinely an invitation was a mystery.
The piece of paper I had received was covered in nothing but question marks instead of clear lettering.
But if the recipient thought of it as an invitation, isn’t it still an invitation?
In fact, I wouldn’t have cared even if it wasn’t.
‘If I played pranks in someone else’s house, I’d be prepared to receive returns.’
Technically, this isn’t even my house, though.
“Da-eun and Yuki stay here.”
“Okay.”
If it were any other typical situation, I usually would have taken them with me since it would be safer, but I had a gut feeling this situation would be different.
So, I told them to stay put, and Yuki nodded without objection.
“…Do we have to go?”
Da-eun was the one raising an objection.
“I just have a bad feeling about this…”
Despite her tone being no different from her usual whininess, the emotion underlying her words was entirely different.
A voice full of sincerity.
Contradictorily, as I met Da-eun’s worried gaze, a smile naturally formed on my face.
“That’s a flag.”
A magical phrase that makes even trivial things seem significant.
If I said here, ‘It’s okay. I’ll be back soon.’ or something similar, something would undoubtedly happen.
So, instead of saying such words, I just hugged Da-eun tightly.
Even through a slightly thick coat, I could feel her warmth.
That warmth and familiar scent calmed my slightly unsettled heart.
As I buried my face in Da-eun’s embrace, a teasing voice came from above.
“…If you do this, I can’t even say not to go. How unfair.”
“It’s a major blood loss service.”
Possibly one that would never happen again.
“Puhaha… I guess that’s true.”
Da-eun chuckled softly and hugged me tightly.
“Make sure you come back in one piece, alright?”
“Yeah.”
“You confidently answered before last time too, and came back all worn out.”
“…I wasn’t hurt.”
I was just a little surprised; I really wasn’t injured.
Not liking that she brought up that incident, I pressed my head against Da-eun’s embrace.
“…I can’t stand to watch this.”
I heard Yuki say something that made me feel a little sick once I detached myself from Da-eun.
She quickly turned her head, as if she meant it seriously.
…Did she think this was worse than someone’s head being severed?
I left the gymnasium, shaken by the considerable shock.
To find out who had sent me the invitation.
* * *
Broadcast nickname: Pine.
Real name: Do-hyun.
For him, today was just like any other day.
The sun was shining, the sky was clear, the air was pleasantly chilly…
If I had to point out a difference, it was that he, who usually didn’t go out much, was in the middle of Seoul due to a meeting with a company.
Still, that wasn’t something drastically out of his routine; it wasn’t exactly a ‘break from the norm.’
After all, the meeting with the company was tied to broadcasting, and he wasn’t just visiting a company he had no ties with.
It was a somewhat annoying task, but ultimately it was just another day destined to end like any other.
…Except,
“…What’s that?”
Contrary to his expectations, an unprecedented change occurred suddenly.
───
There hadn’t been any forewarning at all.
What sound would be made when the heavens collapse?
Would it be something deafening like ‘Boom! Bang!’ as I loosely imagined?
The blue sky, however, was eerily calm as it split open.
And the scenery that unfolded beyond—
“…”
In the bright of midday, the night sky suddenly stretched out before him.
…No.
That wasn’t a night sky at all.
Do-hyun found himself unconsciously stepping back.
A few passersby seemed to share his sentiments, retreating with pale, ghostly faces.
However, not everyone felt the same way.
“Is this a movie shoot? Was there any talk about filming here today?”
“Wow… the scale is amazing…”
“I wonder how much it cost?”
Do-hyun noticed some people in his peripheral vision remarking in awe while looking at the pitch-black curtain.
Even while merely staring, his instincts were ringing alarm bells, yet those people didn’t seem to notice anything.
“…Run.”
Do-hyun forced himself to lift his feet, which felt like they were glued to the ground as he muttered.
“I need to get away…”
…But where to?
Would running away allow him to escape the edge of that calm veil?
With his mind filled with overwhelming negative emotions, Do-hyun’s pupils gradually lost their luster.
If he couldn’t escape, then maybe it would be better to just stay here—
“-?”
Do-hyun lifted his head, which he had unconsciously lowered towards the floor.
‘What was I just thinking?’
He felt like he had thought something that wasn’t like himself.
His head felt foggy.
As if he was enveloped in dense mist.
Thus, he gave up recalling the thought he had just had a moment ago and blinked.
After all, he couldn’t follow those thoughts any further.
“What is that…?”
From the pitch-black curtain that had only seemed dark before, a massive arm emerged.
Its exposed size was far larger than a typical truck, reaching toward the sky.
While it resembled a human hand, it was anything but.
“…There’s no way a human’s hand would look like that.”
What kind of human has a hand that can grasp the sky?
What kind of human has arms so enormous that they can cover the heavens?
As Do-hyun stared blankly at the sky, a question flashed across his mind.
What would happen when the owner of that arm fully revealed itself…?
‘…My installment savings aren’t due for renewal for much longer.’
Ironically, the very first thought that crossed Do-hyun’s mind was that.
In the face of such an unrealistic and irrational scene, he was having an incredibly pragmatic thought.
And it was also a sign of resignation from a human facing an unavoidable disaster.
Thus, Do-hyun looked up at the incomprehensibly massive disaster before him.
At that moment.
A gentle breeze
“…?”
A wind that felt out of place with the atmosphere brushed against his cheek.
Soft, sweet, yet somehow bearing a chill.
Despite the wind having no color, Do-hyun found himself thinking that it was pink.
Without realizing it, he shifted his gaze toward the lingering sensation of the breeze.
Soon, his eyes widened in astonishment.
-Swish!
A single line was drawn across the hand that covered the sky.
Following that striking pink line, the enormous hand split apart.
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