Please Do Not Abandon the Adopted Heroine

153 – Under the Earth

dark cavity.

Water droplets that have formed on the edge of a structure that has rusted over a long period of time fall and echo deeply.

Slowly… Slowly…

Step by step, step by step, on that damp cement.

In the man’s steps, only a thin thread of will remains, barely flowing.

“Crrrrrrr!”

There was no reason left in him anymore. He felt as if he had sunk into a deep abyss and was struggling. Every sight he could see was blocked, and even that was painful, as if the bitterest light had been scattered and struck directly on his retina.

“castle… Crunch… knife… knife… this… head… It hurts… “aaah!”

Still, the man was desperate. The priority is to regain closed senses.

damp moisture. A smell that makes you feel nauseous. Just breathing in the air makes me feel like mold is growing in my lungs and rat excrement powder is flowing in. Even the cool breeze that occasionally blew from the cave had been polluted for a long time due to the lack of sunlight.

Yes, that’s right. This is a sewer.

An underground facility that processes all kinds of wastewater from the empire.

The man went back one by one like that. The extremely subjective feeling that something was devouring my brain slowly began to dissipate.

Who am I? There was no need to think long. It is the shadow of His Majesty the Emperor.

His past as the most brilliant warrior collapsed in a moment of mistake.

The hero of the 5th Holy Sword. The fallen hero of the 5th Holy Sword. No one cheered or clapped for him after he lost the holy sword. His memory is confused. His segmented consciousness is unable to maintain stability. He, who was guarding His Majesty’s side, found himself, ah… Why did he crawl into the sewer?

Received the 5th Holy Sword. It was a favor from the emperor. I can’t remember anything since I held the cool blade that I so desperately miss. Order received. What command. Eugene Sir Neferna. Order to kill him. With this Fifth Holy Sword.

“castle… knife… ?”

I look down at my hands, feeling cold and heavy. There is a sword in his right hand. Perhaps because it’s been a while since I’ve held it, my grip cramps and I can’t straighten it out. I understand that.

“eww… Argh! what’s this! my hand! “My arm!”

The man’s body was strangely deformed. It’s not just arms and hands. Enlarged body. One twisted leg swells long and thick like a snake’s tail, dragging with hideous mucus. My back was stiff as a stone, my head was bent along with my neck, and my vision was turned upside down, but no matter how hard I tried, my head wouldn’t turn.

“this… this… Big! what! … … . Save me… help me!”

As soon as I realized the situation, a distant fear overtook my body.

The man dragged his prone body and screamed, squealing, not even being able to breathe properly.

“your majesty! your majesty! Are you there! Please save me! Wrong! Please forgive me! I’m just a loser! My conviction was wrong! The Holy Sword is a daunting sword for me! dare… dare… I am… Huh… please… Please save me… … ”

“Wow, be loud. “I finally found it.”

An emotionless voice coldly cuts through a man’s competitive shout.

The clear sound of shoe heels echoed hollowly and reached my eardrums.

As if cold water had been sprinkled on my head, my mind, which had been red just a moment ago, cools down.

An unfamiliar voice rang clearly in the dark cave.

There was a hint of playfulness in the tone of speech, but it was far from friendly.

“I am confident in finding traces, but I am not good at finding specific people in such crowded places. “I may be an idiot for accepting Manwol’s offer to send me nearby, but I’m not the kind of person who can make unnecessary pranks or mistakes like this.”

In the darkness where not a single light shines, his appearance is fleeting and clear.

White shirt and black pants. Shoes with scratches even show a hint of indifference.

The sight of the man casually putting his hands in his pockets and walking leisurely with an incongruous calm expression and pace was so foreign to the man that he unconsciously suspected that he was seeing a hallucination.

“According to Ignis’ testimony, I heard that you have already been eaten by the Fifth Holy Sword. “If the Holy Sword is determined to devour its wielder, do you know that a weak human body cannot maintain its shape?”

He let out a short sneer.

“… … In my case in the past, the case was a little different, but the mechanism is still the same, so I know what will happen if the Holy Sword has malicious intent. Walking around the streets like that would have caused a commotion, but it was so strangely quiet. ‘Near’ the full moon. I never thought he would have measured the distance vertically… … ”

Finally he stood in front of the man.

“I never dreamed that it was walking around right under my feet.”

“you… … ”

“A long time. The hero of the 5th Holy Sword. … “I’m so happy to see that you’re still conscious.”

He said, making eye contact with a very dry smile. I scanned the man’s twisted body with empty eyes.

“There’s no way Undine and Ignis were harmed by holy sword scraps… If it is true that the 6th Holy Sword Lee Min-ah intervened along the way, then it was entirely my fault. I guess they only met the conditions for opening the Holy Sword for no reason. … “I told Undine to wait until I left, but I can’t keep complaining now.”

My legs don’t move. It is not simply because the body has become enlarged.

This is magic. Even though he couldn’t even feel the magical power, the man was sure.

Binding magic. It is not magic optimized for military use or distributed to the public.

A very dark and humid margin. The man who had personally dealt with all kinds of dirty and dark magic by the emperor’s side was keenly aware that it was a form of gold magic that restricted the body’s movements and even caused pain, bordering on torture.

“yes… Yes, this guy… this… Abominable magic… !”

“Why don’t you look in the mirror and talk?”

“dirty… The dirty blood of your relatives still flows in your veins… … … “aaah!”

“Anyway, how long do you plan on writhing on the floor? I’m a little embarrassed because I’m talking about it to myself. … … depending on… It’s been a while since I last met you, and you’re being mean to me again. “These people who were once warriors of the Holy Sword should get along well.”

“Kuhuhuh… My legs… it hurts… please… Ugh… Aangraaangggaaa!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!”

The man collapsed due to the intense pain that felt as if his blood vessels and muscles were constricting. It’s not just a feeling of cramps. After repeating dozens of times of contracting and expanding my legs as if they were going to explode, the moment I reached a point where I no longer felt any pain, pow! Jump! And blood splattered.

“leg! Ahhh!!!!!! leg!!!!! my!!! My legs, my legs, my legs, my legs, my legs, my legs hurt, my legs hurt!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!”

“I was honestly excited to hear you were alive. Another opportunity. For me, it’s an opportunity I can’t miss again… To be honest, it was Han who killed you too easily back then.”

There are only a few people in this world who use this kind of crazy magic and cursed magic calmly.

The man barely swallowed his breath and muttered with his eyes closed.

“Neferna… Neferna… … ”

“Nefernara. Are you talking about me? Or do you mean my father?”

“consanguinity… Dirty blood relatives… The babble… … You must… Kill… Throw away… Flesh… Burn it… The brain… … … … With your father… … ”

“Hahaha, yes. my father You were very jealous of ‘Hero Neferna’. A hero from another world who acquired the holy sword later than he did. Swordsmanship and magic were caught up within a few weeks, and everything related to performance and achievements was also delayed. People’s awareness. Not only did I lose the attention of the media, but I also lost the heart of the princess I had been longing for. “It must have been difficult for you, who had walked the path of the elite by the emperor’s side all your life, to remain sane.”

“By killing… Let’s make beef bones with your bones… yes… Find your parents’ grave and enter the maggot-infested mouth of the corpse… Your piece of meat… … ”

“How did it feel to kill the man you hated so much and the wife he loved with your own hands? Are you excited? Did you feel good? Ah, now that I think about it again, you said this to me back then. ‘I thought I would be able to fight against a strong blood family, but it turned out to be a shame.’ Pregnant blood relatives cannot use magic power. “Did you say it was disappointing not to see you rebel?”

With one wave of my hand, a subtle magical power seeped into me.

Wood-dud-duk… … Vibration starting from the tip of the finger.

My bones are twisted horribly. The sensation of your veins, muscles, and even thin skin being crushed to the limit.

The pain was so dizzying that it made me faint, but I couldn’t even faint. All I did was spill his bodily fluids, a mixture of blood and saliva, on the floor, and then squeeze his face over and over again.

“Get up.”

“Ugh… Oh my… Oh my… … ”

“I’m sorry, but I can’t just kill someone so helpless. “Because I am a teacher now.”

“Haha… Example? you… A monster like you teaches a student… ?”

“… I am in a position to set an example for others. So give me just one chance. How are you feeling?”

When he snapped his fingers, the hero of the 5th Holy Sword fell as if he had been hit by a dull iron plate.

There was no choice.

“wake up. Pull out the holy sword. right now. wake up.”

The body moves on its own. It is not the man’s will to stand still.

Sticky dirt seeped into the ruptured cross section of the leg. The exposed bones and flesh were mercilessly scratched by hard, sharp pieces of stone.

“The value of the Fifth Holy Sword is the mercy of rest. That power was the power of healing. Pull out the holy sword. If you can’t even control the power of the Holy Sword, trust yourself to the Holy Sword like before. Didn’t the blood of the royal family forcefully awaken the Holy Sword? They are one of the few who can properly suppress the Holy Sword, so there is no need to guess. Summon the holy sword like the emperor did. If you leave it to the Holy Sword, at least it will fight better than you do now.”

“this… profit… this… profit!!! Yujiyiin seo nefernaaak!!!!!”

Anger rose up more than pain.

I have to kill that thing… In order to kill it, he received a holy sword from the emperor.

Fifth Holy Sword. My holy sword. The one and only holy sword.

I hope so. Give me strength again.

Finally, it’s good,

Same strength as back then.

“Cruk! “Crrrrrrrrr!”