NOVEL NEXT Episode 108
Episode 108
“If we do encounter that thing, unfortunately, how about using Reversa as sacrifices?”
“…What? You crazy bastard!”
The vice-captain was panting as if he was angry. However, Ivan Karpin maintained a gentle manner of speaking.
“Shouldn’t the strong ones remain so that the others can survive longer? In that regard, you guys are the most suitable meat shields….”
“What! What did you just say….”
“You’re the ones who spouted nonsense first, so you’re not going to call it bullshit? Mr. Meat Shield.”
“How dare you!”
What’s wrong with him? Is he trying to make enemies with Demillang’s subordinates? When Ivan Karpin finally couldn’t stand it and was going crazy, I sighed in a bored voice like before and said,
“I’ll do it.”
“…What?”
“That thing. Whether it’s being a meat shield or a sacrifice.”
“No, what are you saying now….”
“I said I’ll do it.”
Uh, is this such a shocking thing to say?
“….”
“….”
In an instant, everyone fell silent.
At that moment, I thought it was a bit funny that baby Ryuseong and adult Ryuseong grabbed my collar at the same time. It was also funny that Kirill and Ivan Karpin opened their mouths so wide their jaws might fall off. But I didn’t like seeing Reversa’s surprised expressions.
They’ll be happy inside, so why are they acting like that?
Anyway, I continued speaking peacefully.
“Don’t worry. I’m saying this because I’m confident I can come out alive.”
“What are you talking about! Enough. Don’t listen to this guy. Damn it. It’s all nonsense. He’s just full of delirious words because he’s angry. Cassice Demillang! I told you to stop. Don’t open your mouth again!”
When adult Ryuseong got angry and told me to shut up, baby Ryuseong put his tiny hand on my lips and firmly grabbed them to prevent me from speaking.
But I was really serious. This damn Ryuseong bastard saying I’m talking nonsense because I’m angry, it pisses me off.
“No, why, you….”
When Ivan Karpin asked stuttering, I smiled after overpowering baby Ryuseong’s palm with strength. Although the overpowered baby Ryuseong growled and bit my arm, even adult Ryuseong couldn’t stop him, and understanding that sad feeling, I just….
“Does a person need a reason to save another person?”
I said something I didn’t mean and smiled slightly. Then, gradually, the force in baby Ryuseong’s teeth started to loosen.
“Still, you don’t need to do that….”
“What difference is there between you and me?”
“…You call that a reason…?”
Ivan Karpin had an expression of not understanding. But my following words were quite lively.
“Didn’t we come to save people?”
I absolutely don’t think this way.
“I was afraid there might be no survivors, but I was the only one who thought it was fortunate that relatively many survived.”
One should not expect warm philanthropy from me.
“You weren’t planning to invest all the manpower in the left side raid, were you?”
“….”
“That’s not what we came in for, right?”
But because I have a desired outcome.
Bang!
I slammed my fist on the flat rock used as a table.
It hurt like hell.
Still, I had to say it straight.
“We have to save the survivors under the bridge. The people who have been waiting for us for months. To do that, we have to guard for a long time so that thing in the wilderness can’t attack us.”
Right argument. Morality. Ethics.
And more than anything, that scheme which could only be rescue.
“The most suitable for that role is.”
I said.
“Only I, Cassice Demillang.”
* * *
It’s easy for a person to overwhelm another person. If you have high authority, if you have strong financial power, or even if you’re tall or big. Just with that, people are easily overwhelmed. If I must say, I can give the tip that they tend to be easily overwhelmed by fear. However, it’s difficult to be overwhelmed by goodness. Because the concept, value, and meaning of being good are often mistaken as something soft and tender at first glance.
And now.
“….”
Everyone was overwhelmed by goodness.
* * *
‘Crazy bastard.’
Ivan Karpin didn’t know who those words that welled up from deep in his heart were referring to. No, more than that, Ivan Karpin didn’t even know who he wanted to say them to. Just by the measure that Ivan Karpin is someone who knows how to feel ashamed, we can guess the reason why Ivan Karpin’s face turned red.
Because, because… the reason we gathered here was….
‘To save people.’
That was the priority. Not to start the raid, get rid of the boss monster, and go home.
We were people who gathered to save others.
That was the rightness, and the cause.
But.
“Right now… we didn’t gather to say such things, did we?”
The attackers started to protest. With a moderately smiling face and a moderate tone, saying let’s just move on moderately.
“First, we need to prepare for the raid. We are attackers, not rescuers, right? We can plan the rescue after the dungeon is destroyed.”
“That’s right. First, we need to be safe….”
Let’s just move on moderately and live for ourselves first.
And at that moment, a gaze like a solid blade pierced through the dim dawn and penetrated everywhere.
“If you’re going to do that, shout at that cliff.”
“….”
“We’re going to live, so you die stuck between the inner and original worlds.”
“….”
When the dungeon collapses, the inner world and the original world, that is, reality, merge and collapse occurs.
So, telling them to shout those words to the survivors gathered under the cliff means….
“Shout at their desperation and will to live! Your cowardice!”
The voice of Cassice Demillang, who never imagined he would say such words, echoed loudly along the cliff and reverberated several times. Even the butler was stunned and looked up at him. After gazing for a while, he smiled with clear eyes that seemed like a young boy, or perhaps a masked sage, and with humble and noble lips like the son of God who had intuited everything.
“Are you telling the survivors who barely made it out alive, those who struggled to live even in the face of this disaster, that now it’s enough so everyone should die?”
But his words were different from his smile. The words he recited were all daggers. Cutting everyone’s hearts, swinging and piercing through, stabbing and penetrating.
Eventually, he threw his head back and burst into a bright smile, and it couldn’t have been more terrifying.
“If there’s anyone who came in just to gain honor or fame, go out and die right now. You filthy vipers. This place, this land under the cliff is a momentary resting place that people obtained to live. It’s proof that people tried to live. You have no right to look down on it!”
At those words, a few people unknowingly took a step back. They had no choice. This dungeon was originally considered impossible to raid even when there was only one Named, and that’s why things got so big. Because things got too big, no matter how much they asked for help from other countries, the response was lukewarm, and in the end, there wasn’t a single proper attacker among the recruited attackers. Everyone was thinking of just waiting for a good treat and then pretending to have a stomachache and running away, but a dungeon break forcibly started and ended up like this. The only ones with solid content were the soldiers, but even they remained because they couldn’t run away due to strict military discipline or patriotism.
Moreover, these days when military resources are lacking and even patrolling the surroundings became difficult, and public order has fallen into chaos.
At such a moment, what did Ivan Karpin say to himself when he heard that Cassice Demillang was coming?
‘It’ll be a headache to select a separate guard to protect the great young master….’
How shameful this is.
The situation where only the young master, whom he despised as trivial, is talking about saving people.
How regrettable this is.
Suddenly, Ivan Karpin looked up at the sky. And he faced the red sky.
He also confirmed the distorted hologram or glitch-like clouds of the inner world.
He also confirmed tears welling up and rolling down his temples.
He wiped them away with his wrist as if stealing. And he said,
“…I’m sorry. I misjudged.”
A few attackers tried to protest again without knowing shame, but Ivan Karpin firmly shook his head. And slowly knelt down.
“Rescue should be the priority. I am not qualified as a commander. So you, sir.”
He pulled out the flag attached to his back. He raised it up with both hands as if offering it to Cassice Demillang.
“Please lead us.”
He thought it would be good if returning what you should have had from the beginning could make up for the shame in his heart even a little.
It was the sincerity of Ivan Karpin, the iron-blooded general.
* * *
Meanwhile, Cassice Demillang was feeling a bit perplexed.
‘I’ve never led before.’
What should I do?
Translator Notes:
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