“That damn bird!”
His voice was loud and clear.
Upon hearing the stream of unfiltered curses through the translator, Kang Sihyun offered a brief critique. As expected, Pia had chosen the main members of the Jincheong guild as the ones to be carried away by their feet. Those were the initial members targeted for the attack.
The expressions on people's faces when Pia’s beak targeted their heads were precarious to behold. Luo Yixiang's face seemed to sour the most, and as expected, the man, upon realizing his situation, was so enraged that veins bulged in his neck.
It wasn’t as if they were being fed to the dirt or commanded to move while caught in the beak of a bird. They were merely asked to be carried by the bird’s feet for a moment, but Luo Yixiang's overreaction seemed to indicate how much face mattered to him.
“Is it really okay to just leave him be?”
Haemin, who had been watching Luo Yixiang unable to control his excitement and being calmed down by Song Zhan, expressed his anxiety. Sihyun, who had been spending a peaceful time picking out Pia's feathers, simply shrugged.
“What can we do? It seems he needs time to accept reality.”
The longer the delay, the more it was their loss, not his. If such a trivial matter dragged on, public opinion would turn against Luo Yixiang. Watching Luo Yixiang rage about like someone watching a fire from across the river, a man tired of the spectacle approached Sihyun.
The sound of black shoes approached with a click-clack. The man, sighing as he ran a gloved hand through his disheveled hair, had a face filled with ennui and irritation.
“Do we really have to go?”
“And?”
“What?”
Luo Yixiang was taken aback, perhaps not expecting a counter-question. Sihyun, leaning against Pia, looked up at the leader of Jincheong.
“I told you. If we force someone other than those chosen by Pia, Pia might drop them while flying. You wouldn’t want that, right?”
“So, you’re saying we should be carried by the claws of a bird?”
“It won’t take long, just endure it for a few minutes. Is that too hard?”
“…”
“Well, if it's really too hard, there is another way.”
Sihyun’s voice remained calm, contrasting with Luo Yixiang’s, which was laced with annoyance in every syllable. Sihyun spoke lightly, as if it wasn't a big deal, causing the man to raise his eyebrows.
“If you keep delaying like this, and if you really don’t like it, we can take someone else instead. But if Pia happens to drop those people, the responsibility will fall on Jincheong guild's leader. I've already warned that taking someone not chosen by Pia could be dangerous.”
Attempting to avoid being lumped together, the gaze of Jincheong guild members turned to their leader. Their eyes clearly conveyed a message.
Couldn't you just sacrifice yourself for once?
The argument had already lasted over 20 minutes. Those who were tired were thoroughly exhausted, and those disappointed were deeply disillusioned. The loyal guild members still looked at Sihyun unfavorably, but none seemed brave enough to volunteer in place of their leaders. The guild’s unity was apparently not as strong as one might assume.
“Please think it over and let me know.”
Having ended the conversation calmly, icy stares pierced through him. The quiet anger visible in their eyes would have once overwhelmed him, but Sihyun, now unaffected, stood up from leaning against Pia.
“What will you do?”
“…”
“If you decide to replace them with other guild members, please select those guild members to be carried by Pia’s feet yourself. I wouldn’t want to overstep, so I’ll leave the decision to Mr. Luo Yixiang.”
With that, the gazes of Jincheong guild members sharpened even further. Sihyun calmly waited for Jincheong's response. Everything depended on his choice.
If he, a figure of high authority and autocratic tendencies within the guild, said so, the guild members would move despite their complaints. However, no one knew what repercussions this incident might bring in the future.
This minor conflict could become the seed of discord, possibly leading to talented guild members defecting to other guilds. Regardless, the internal unity of Jincheong was bound to weaken through this incident.
There was no reason to risk everything just to save face. The best course of action was to follow Pia’s choice.
And he surely knew this fact as well.
As Sihyun watched the man lost in thought, he allowed a smile to curve his lips. When the outcome seemed predictable, Luo Yixiang's voice, much lower than usual, finally broke the silence.
“...Then, as planned, we will go.”
“Are you sure
that's okay?”
“What choice do we have but to send other guild members?”
“Indeed, that's the case, isn’t it? Then, let's proceed as planned.”
The tedious argument was over. Sihyun, wanting to move quickly after wasting time on unnecessary arguments, clapped his hands to gather everyone's attention and divided them into groups.
Two-person teams were formed based on physique and ability, totaling six teams. After advising them to merely step on the minimum qi and climb up, Sihyun, along with Haru, boarded Pia. Following them, Haemin and Hahyuk climbed aboard, leaving only four people remaining.
“…”
The expressions of the four, who had chosen shame over succumbing to public pressure, were naturally not good. Luo Yixiang looked at Pia's claws with a complicated expression, while Song Zhan, who usually smiled meaningfully, had his eyebrows slightly drooped. Luo Yixiang appeared edgy, as if ready to bite at the slightest provocation, and Luo Yixiang was still visibly agitated.
“Please prepare the claw team as well.”
“Damn it.”
When they were referred to as the claw team, Luo Yixiang's face twisted unpleasantly. Haru, sensing the killing intent, clung to Sihyun's side as a guard. Sihyun, after checking on Haru dutifully performing his task, patted Pia's back twice.
“Pfft!”
At the signal, the bird ascended. Then, stretching its talons sharply, it grasped the four people below.
“Tsk.”
Luo Yixiang, reluctantly accepting the touch of Pia’s claws on his body, clenched his eyes shut and grabbed onto the fantastical creature's feet. With the guild leader complying with the situation, the other guild members had no choice but to reach out their hands. Sihyun, after confirming their actions, lightly stroked Pia’s back.
“Let’s go, Pia.”
“Pffft!”
Despite its increased size, the bird’s voice remained adorably the same. Pia, confidently spreading its wings, took flight. Following it, the two-person teams also began their movement.
As they ascended against gravity, a strong wind blasted against them. Clutching tightly onto Pia’s feathers and squinting his eyes, Sihyun leaned forward to measure the distance to the high towers. As the distance closed rapidly, and the once-distant towers were within a few meters, Sihyun gripped his weapon.
The portion of a bow he had used since the time he was bestowed with divine missions, sealing the offspring of Gula, now shone in his hand.
“...I should at least give it a name, right?”
He couldn’t keep calling it a shining stick forever. Frowning at the lack of dignity, Sihyun took out the bowstaff as he looked at the mist covering the towers. The radiant stick transformed into an arrow, mounted on the bowstring. As Pia finally reached the towers, Sihyun’s fingers released the bowstring.
Kwaaaaaang!
The arrow plunged into the center of the tower. For the first time since regaining Adam's memories and awakening his power, Sihyun unleashed his strength.
Now he knew.
The nature of the power that had defeated Decumanus. How to use it.
He had to know.
It was a power he had used repeatedly in his memories.
Golden light flashed in his blue eyes. His heart throbbed violently. A clear energy flowed from his core to the arrow he had shot.
Brainwashing and the black sphere.
The nuisances that had troubled Sihyun last time all took place within the tower, and he had no intention of falling for strange attacks this time.
If the tower was a field created by Septimus for him, then destroying it was the simple solution.
“Pierce through!”
Wooooong!
The shout, resembling a roar, caused the arrow lodged in the tower wall to tremble. After shaking violently left and right, the arrow emitted a strong light and penetrated the tower.
Kwagagaga!
The tower, having withstood an attack akin to bombardment, crumbled helplessly with a loud noise. A dust cloud rose, covering the grey mist. The strong light from the arrow dispersed Septimus's mists quickly.
“…”
With a single arrow, the situation was reversed. The tower was demolished in an instant, and the eerie mist was driven away, leaving Sihyun’s companions with their eyes widened in astonishment. Receiving their astonished gazes, Sihyun inhaled deeply, witnessing the downfall of the adversities that had plagued him before his regression.
The power that manifested only against sinners defined by the deity.
That merciless force, bestowed upon Sihyun after the deity sealed Gula, was one of the powers given to him.
The power of an executioner, meant to seal the beings left
by Gula in the world, finally shone brightly, pulsating vigorously within Sihyun’s heart, announcing its presence.
After a long wait, the executioner’s time had come once again.
Feeling the wildly rampaging power, as if excited, Sihyun furrowed his brows with the thoughts that came flooding in.
The deity returning his memories and the faint power fully reviving meant that the being to be executed was nearing. His blue eyes glanced briefly at the sky.
Probably soon.
The time for Gula's resurgence was approaching.
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