"What is this?"
Hamin, who was following behind Sihyun, checked the altar and remarked. He, too, seemed to have caught a whiff of the intense odor, as small wrinkles formed on his nose. Sihyun glanced at the altar adorned with black patterns and hesitantly reached out his hand. At the moment his fingertips were about to touch the stone, Hamin swiftly snatched Sihyun's hand from mid-air. The hand that had extended downward suddenly rose.
"What do you think you're doing?"
The stern-looking Hamin spoke irritably. Sihyun, whose wrist was caught, swallowed his words, feeling perplexed. It seemed that ever since they fell together, this guy, who used to be fine at other times, now felt strangely overprotective.
Sihyun blinked, feeling a tingling pain in his wrist, and turned his gaze away using his free hand.
"Let go."
When told to let go after gripping him menacingly, he obediently complied. Sihyun stared at his hand, marked with red bruises. Was it really necessary to worry this much just because he fell once? Sihyun, with a narrow frown of doubt, looked at Hamin. Unbeknownst to him, Hamin was casually running his hand over the altar.
"...."
As Hamin swept his hand over the altar, there were no sudden vibrations or strange voices. Sihyun, with a puzzled expression, looked at Hamin, who had casually wiped the altar while he wasn't looking. "Nothing special," he said, making the conversation sound absurd.
"Do you guys worry too much?"
"If we've become worrisome, there must be someone who made us like this."
Was it always like this from the beginning?
Hamin retorted.
If it comes out like that, there's nothing to say.
Aware of this fact, Sihyun, who had a tingling wrist, touched it once and patted the stone statue. The statues in the underground orc stronghold didn't resemble orcs. They depicted some unseen entities draped in robes, their faces concealed. Sihyun, wondering if he would hear another sound, cautiously moved further inward.
"Why is a place like this here?"
"If you knew that, would you have come down?"
"You need to speak more politely."
Sihyun murmured to himself, and Hamin responded in a sarcastic tone. Annoyed by Hamin, Sihyun chose to remain silent. With pursed lips, he moved his feet, silently keeping his distance.
As they entered, a fork in the path appeared. Sihyun glanced at the two diverging paths and met eyes with Hamin.
"Which way?"
"You choose."
"Left."
He asked me but answered at the same time. Well, it fits oddly in those moments. Thanks to that, there was no need for unnecessary arguments. Sihyun turned to the left, and Hamin followed closely behind.
"What do you think this place is?"
"Well, judging by the presence of the altar, it seems like a place for conducting some ritual."
"A ritual?"
"Yeah. Maybe make a wish after grabbing something and wishing for the well-being of the insufficient."
"Like pigs or cows?"
"Maybe it could be a person."
"...."
At the casually uttered words, Hamin frowned. Seeing him, who couldn't hide his expression, Sihyun shrugged. It could be nothing. Speaking in a low voice, the forehead that had been crumpled unattractively smoothed out.
"Ah...!"
Instead of walking, something like a stone tripped Sihyun's foot. As Sihyun tilted heavily as if about to fall, Hamin grabbed him.
"What are you doing?"
Having firmly held him, Hamin spoke as if he were in a good mood. The voice, mixed with a half-hearted laugh, seemed to say, 'That's just like you.'
"It's just something I tripped on."
Disliking the tone that seemed to belittle him, Sihyun's eyes narrowed. Clenching his fist, Sihyun glanced at Hamin after feeling about 30% of his mana recovered. His blue eyes scanned Hamin's figure from top to bottom.
"Why?"
As Sihyun turned to look at him instead of walking, Hamin asked.
"I thought the pain might be gone by now."
"Why all of a sudden?"
"I thought I asked first."
"I said you could endure it."
Hamin's expression, saying so, looked genuinely indifferent. It was almost as if he would have been deceived if it weren't for the fact that cold sweat was forming on his forehead. The underground air, filled with a damp atmosphere, was chilly, not hot at all. So, it probably wasn't sweat dripping from being hot.
Stubbornness.
If you can't act tough, does it mean you'll die?
It sincerely raised questions. Realizing that no matter how many times he asked, the same words would be repeated, Sihyun reached out to Hamin. The hand was faster than words. In an instant, a short light flickered and disappeared, causing his face to immediately crumple.
"Hey, you!"
"It's okay, it's just this much."
"What's that, you... huh."
A sigh escaped from his mouth. Sihyun, who raised his hand to his shoulder to brush it off, looked at Hamin with a slightly awkward expression. Not like Pavlov's dog. Does he really think I'll heal him whenever I raise my hand?
As Hamin, whose expression became serious, mumbled something, he messed up his hair. He was the one who used the heal, but he was the one who received it. However, Sihyun couldn't understand why he was getting angry. If he had just said thank you for treating him while he was at it.
Anyway, he only used it to the extent that it wouldn't be a burden. It was two of them when falling, but it was only one when leaving. Perhaps he wasn't burdened.
While thinking to himself like a complaint, suddenly, something rushed into his throat. When it filled his mouth, Sihyun swallowed the hot and bitter substance.
Swish, Sihyun wiped his mouth with his wrist. Hamin, who noticed it promptly, was about to say something when Sihyun spoke first.
"Did you see it when I used heal earlier?"
"What?"
"There seemed to be something on the wall."
"What thing?"
"You'll know if you see."
Casually diverting Hamin's attention, Sihyun created a small pillar of light above his hand. With about 30% of his mana recovered, using this level of skill was acceptable.
"What's that again?"
"A miniaturized sacred light."
Apart from the fact that it doesn't disappear until the caster cancels it, it was useless here, showcasing its utility. Using the pillar of light as a lamp, Sihyun brought his hand to the wall. The bright light illuminated the black wall. Only then could Hamin see what Sihyun had mentioned. On the wall that had gone unnoticed so far, there was a rather extensive mural, seemingly quite old.
"... What is all this?"
Surprised, Hamin asked, and Sihyun, raising one foot, moved his body to the opposite wall, raising his hand again. As expected, there was a mural on this side too.
"... Is this a record?"
Muttering as he looked at the numbers written on the wall, Sihyun. There was something written after the numbers, but the form was blurry, making it difficult to recognize. Even if he tried to understand, it didn't seem to be in Korean. While closely inspecting it, Sihyun now focused on the drawings. Scenes depicting a scene where an entity that could hardly be described as anything was confronting someone wearing a robe, and it seemed like a soul was leaving.
"It looks like it's being driven away."
As Hamin looked at the picture next to him and mumbled quietly, indeed, on the wall, there was a scene where that existence seemed to be hit in the buttocks and driven away.
"...Is it an Irregular?"
"It could be. Or it could be like an orc myth."
Hamin lightly tapped the wall. Even if he touched it with his thumb, there was nothing wrong with the drawing. It's been a long time. Sihyun agreed with Hamin's muttering. Although he didn't know what kind of place this was, it seemed certain that orcs had created it for a long time.
"... Do you think this place has been around for more than ten years?"
Irregulars have appeared for more than 10 years. When Sihyun suddenly thought of it and asked Hamin, he shook his head. It didn't mean denial. It meant he didn't know.
"......"
As if making a promise, the two fell silent and continued walking. The mural continued without interruption. A group of drawings, presumably Irregulars, followed the fleeing figure. Some looked angry, some were crying, and others seemed happy. They entered some kind of space, and as soon as all the beings entered, the entrance closed. The drawings paused for a moment, and a tear-shaped droplet was depicted a little further ahead. That was the end of the mural.
Sihyun looked at Hamin as they reached the end of the mural. Tipping his head slightly, he met Hamin's gaze. The differently colored irises blinked slowly.
"... What is this?"
"Is it like a folk tale?"
Huh. Both of their heads tilted at the same time. Sihyun realized that no matter how much they thought about it, they couldn't figure out the answer. Moreover, due to starting to see it from the middle, he didn't fully understand the content. One thing was clear: strangely drawn, the figure was chased away by someone. Well, with a hum resonating in his throat, Sihyun looked straight ahead. From the point where the mural was interrupted, stairs unfolded again.
"What should we do?"
"Grab it."
Hamin reached out, saying that. Understanding it as a response, Sihyun grabbed his hand, and they descended the stairs. It wasn't until halfway down that Sihyun realized they didn't need to hold hands because of the pillar of light.
After descending a slightly smaller number of stairs than before, a massive door came into view. Standing in front of it, they felt infinitely small. The door in front of them, which wouldn't seem to budge even if they pushed it, was huge, as if tailored for giants. Yes, beings like Orc Lords, for example. It felt overwhelming to be faced with such an old and large door for no reason.
"Can we go in?"
"If it doesn't open, we can break it and go in."
Kkuk, Hamin said, clenching his sword. Sihyun looked at Hamin, who made ignorant remarks, with a contemptuous look. Since entering this place in the middle, they had exchanged similar glances once or twice.
"Do you know there might be something inside and break it?"
"I don't know what's inside."
"Well. I don't know what's inside, but it probably won't be strange. For example, something like a mirror that's thousands of years old."
"What?"
Pretending not to know, Hamin was afraid. His vision wasn't 2.0 just because he wore glasses when watching horror movies. He had heard a story from his childhood that if you stick your feet out of the blanket when sleeping, ghosts will take them away, and he still didn't dare to put his feet out.
Thinking of the story Haewoon told him, Sihyun scared him again. It might be a ghost, or it might be a killer. Saying so, he added another scare. Only then did Hamin say that smashing it would be an impulsive act, pretending to be rational, but he was just scared.
Why does a guy who faces Irregulars without blinking an eye get scared of ghosts?
It was so ridiculous that he shook his head in disbelief.
"Hey, isn't there something written there?"
Hamin's voice was heard at that moment. Following Hamin, who pointed to the top of the door, Sihyun raised his gaze. There was indeed something strangely written. It seemed like Latin, English, or even Chinese.
Unidentifiable characters.
At that moment, jing, his head vibrated, and the view shook.
"Ugh."
When Sihyun grabbed his forehead and staggered, Hamin asked why he was doing that. His voice faded away like a fade-out. In a situation where all the noise had stopped, Sihyun stared at the text coming into his sight. The dizzying characters seemed to disappear but soon took on a clear form again. It was a script I knew.
"For... Mother...?"
"What?"
As Sihyun read the writing on the door, Hamin muttered. The surroundings shook once more, and Sihyun's body twisted and crumbled. In the midst of falling, Hamin, with a perplexed face, came into view. The vision turned pitch-black. It was a blackout.
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