Chapter 117
Hearing Eda’s words, Joo Yi-Gyeol remained quietly sitting inside the glass bottle, showing no particular reaction.
"Well, I suppose you wouldn't understand."
Eda, thinking that Joo Yi-Gyeol didn't fully grasp what she meant, finished the remaining tea and set the empty cup in front of Joo Yi-Gyeol’s glass bottle.
"I don’t think Emperor Sethian will be able to find this place, but it’s better to hurry. If you take it slow, your body’s vitality will run out first."
--Wasn’t the original body unnecessary? You’re going to give me a new one, right?
Joo Yi-Gyeol asked with a puzzled tone, and Eda lightly tapped the lid of the glass bottle, as though tapping his shoulder. This made the glass bottle vibrate, causing Joo Yi-Gyeol’s wings to twitch.
"What I need isn’t just your wish. I also need all the vitality of the gemstone holder connected to you."
--All of it…?
Eda, bringing her face closer to the glass bottle, looked sharply at Joo Yi-Gyeol as if trying to make eye contact.
"Everything necessary to open the dimensional door through the magic circle is already prepared. What’s left is the mass of desire that will serve as the 'guide,' and another source of vitality to maintain the door until we pass through safely."
--I don’t understand what you mean.
Eda looked down at Joo Yi-Gyeol with a mocking expression for a moment, then suddenly smiled gently. The smile was unnecessary and false, but it looked as though she were rewarding Joo Yi-Gyeol for letting himself be caught without a struggle.
"What you need to do is simply strongly wish to cross dimensions while in my arms. With the magic circle and the abundant mana of Idelo’s Flowers, it will respond to your wish on its own."
--What does it mean to maintain the door with another vitality?
"The vitality of the gemstone holder has many uses. It can act as a medium to activate the magic circle, but it also serves to hold the door open. And the only thing that can maintain that door is vitality directly connected to the gemstone. Right now, Emperor Sethian is the only one who has that."
Eda tapped the glass bottle as if tapping Yi-Gyeol's head with her index finger.
"Don’t worry. Are you worried that I won’t have enough vitality to give you? Once we pass into the new world, I won’t need any of Sethian's or Zair’s vitality. As soon as we cross, I’ll give you a new body and all their vitality, so you’ll be able to live a long time."
--….
When Joo Yi-Gyeol said nothing, Eda wondered if it was because of his guilt toward Emperor Sethian, and so she offered him hollow encouragement.
"There’s no need to feel guilty. This is all something Emperor Sethian brought on himself by not properly giving you vitality. You’ve done nothing wrong. Right?"
Eda’s crescent-shaped eyes seemed to press him for an answer. She had thought he might hesitate or be afraid, but Joo Yi-Gyeol’s response was surprisingly quick and firm.
--I don’t care. As long as you give me enough vitality and a healthy body, I’ll help however I can.
Eda, pleased with the unwavering answer, laughed out loud and stood up.
"Good. Then, let’s start right away."
Eda gave some orders to the two male guards standing still like puppets at the entrance to the chamber. They opened the door and left, returning shortly with a robed man and woman. From their clothes, they looked like mages from the Magic Tower, and unlike the guard men surrounded by an air of wrongness, they wore flushed faces full of emotion.
The man and woman were mages from the Magic Tower who, like Eda, had the ability to see souls. Eda had slowly prepared them over the past few years to serve as her hands and feet. Because Eda was none other than the descendant of the First Tower Lord, and because the two had become absorbed in her dimensional transfer magic, they followed her completely. The claim that they would complete the legendary dimensional transfer magic and follow her to become masters of another world strongly fascinated them.
Upon entering the chamber, the two men and women, seeing the brilliant golden butterflies necessary to complete the magic, couldn’t help but gape in awe. It was their first time witnessing the life essence they had only heard about, and their excitement was immeasurable.
Eda looked at the two of them, dazed by the sight of the butterflies, and clicked her tongue in displeasure.
"Stop standing around like idiots and get moving. Before someone else gets possessed."
"Ah, yes!"
"Sorry, sorry!"
The two mages bowed and moved at Eda’s command, but they kept sneaking glances at Joo Yi-Gyeol.
They first approached the glass bottles filling one side of the chamber wall. Inside them were numerous red butterflies lying as if dead, and the man and woman injected mana into the lids of those bottles to open them one by one.
Not only that, after opening each lid, they aimed their bluish glowing fingertips at the butterflies inside, and when the light flowing from their fingertips wrapped around a butterfly, they flung it toward the magic circle. As if tied to a rope, the butterfly dragged out of the glass bottle flew quickly and struck the magic circle.
The red butterfly that had struck it gradually turned liquid and was sucked into the grooves of the magic circle. The blood-like liquid the butterfly became began to fill the deeply carved grooves along the pattern. Then the other butterflies also flew in the same way and were absorbed one by one.
Before long, the magic circle was turning red, as though it had been drawn in blood.
--What are you doing with the souls?
Joo Yi-Gyeol asked with a trembling voice, and Eda casually answered.
"They’re ones addicted to the blood of the living and Prince Zair. Anything in excess becomes poison."
--Addicted to blood?
"To be exact, they’re addicted to vitality. The only reason you can handle others’ vitality is because you have a bodily filter and because you’re a connected being. Without those, the energy of the dead surrounded by vitality quickly crumbles."
As if she felt not even the slightest pity for the souls of the dead, Eda watched the butterflies fly into the magic circle and be absorbed, smiling as though she were enjoying it.
"Those are just masses of vitality wearing the shells of souls. Vile, poisonous masses of vitality."
Chuckling, Eda stretched out her hand toward the half-finished magic circle. More precisely, she was reaching toward the black curtains hanging to the left and right of the wall where the magic circle was carved.
A blue energy gathered in Eda’s hand, and just as the two mages had done, the black curtains covering the left and right of the magic circle began to move. As the curtains were slowly pushed aside, something familiar to Joo Yi-Gyeol was revealed inside.
Purple Idelo’s Flowers filled both sides of the magic circle as though a flower field had been stood upright, making his eyes swim. They were flowers so hard to obtain that only a small amount bloomed even in Sethian’s garden, yet the number decorating the walls beside the magic circle looked so great that it would take quite some time just to count them.
Eda looked at the magic circle gradually filling with red blood and the Idelo’s Flowers crowding both sides of it, and her shoulders trembled with pleasure.
The souls filled with vitality would activate the magic circle, and while crossing dimensions, the Idelo’s Flowers, full of abundant mana along with poison, would make up for the amount of mana too hard to bear.
What remained was Joo Yi-Gyeol and the vitality of the gemstone holder connected to him.
Unable to suppress her anticipation for what was about to happen, she licked her lips. Pleasant trembling and impatience made the backs of her knees tingle.
The glass bottles that had held the red butterflies were emptied one after another, and the grooved magic circle was now completely full of blood. Eda gestured to the two mages, who were watching with full hearts.
"Now, we’ll extract Emperor Sethian's vitality. Prepare yourselves."
The two mages looked even more excited than before.
"Finally!"
"Very soon now…!"
Their voices trembling with excitement, the two wizards looked at Yi-Gyeol; inside the glass bottle. Their eyes, now glazed with obsession, seemed to devour him.
They stepped forward, gazing at the bottle with rapt attention, and finally, injected mana into the stopper. The tightly sealed opening smoothly opened.
Perhaps worried that Yi-Gyeol might escape, the male wizard pointed at Yi-Gyeol in the bottle with his index finger. Yi-Gyeol felt as if something invisible was binding him, and he was slowly being pulled out of the glass bottle.
--But Eda.
"Mm?"
Turning with a pleased expression at Joo Yi-Gyeol’s words, Eda suddenly felt a strange sense of unease.
--I don’t think going to that world will be as easy as you think.
“…What are you talking about?”
Noticing the change in Joo Yi-Gyeol’s air, Eda wiped the smile from her face.
--Because I’m going to stop you.
Joo Yi-Gyeol’s low voice sent a chill down Eda’s spine.
"Well, I suppose you wouldn't understand."
Eda, thinking that Joo Yi-Gyeol didn't fully grasp what she meant, finished the remaining tea and set the empty cup in front of Joo Yi-Gyeol’s glass bottle.
"I don’t think Emperor Sethian will be able to find this place, but it’s better to hurry. If you take it slow, your body’s vitality will run out first."
--Wasn’t the original body unnecessary? You’re going to give me a new one, right?
Joo Yi-Gyeol asked with a puzzled tone, and Eda lightly tapped the lid of the glass bottle, as though tapping his shoulder. This made the glass bottle vibrate, causing Joo Yi-Gyeol’s wings to twitch.
"What I need isn’t just your wish. I also need all the vitality of the gemstone holder connected to you."
--All of it…?
Eda, bringing her face closer to the glass bottle, looked sharply at Joo Yi-Gyeol as if trying to make eye contact.
"Everything necessary to open the dimensional door through the magic circle is already prepared. What’s left is the mass of desire that will serve as the 'guide,' and another source of vitality to maintain the door until we pass through safely."
--I don’t understand what you mean.
Eda looked down at Joo Yi-Gyeol with a mocking expression for a moment, then suddenly smiled gently. The smile was unnecessary and false, but it looked as though she were rewarding Joo Yi-Gyeol for letting himself be caught without a struggle.
"What you need to do is simply strongly wish to cross dimensions while in my arms. With the magic circle and the abundant mana of Idelo’s Flowers, it will respond to your wish on its own."
--What does it mean to maintain the door with another vitality?
"The vitality of the gemstone holder has many uses. It can act as a medium to activate the magic circle, but it also serves to hold the door open. And the only thing that can maintain that door is vitality directly connected to the gemstone. Right now, Emperor Sethian is the only one who has that."
Eda tapped the glass bottle as if tapping Yi-Gyeol's head with her index finger.
"Don’t worry. Are you worried that I won’t have enough vitality to give you? Once we pass into the new world, I won’t need any of Sethian's or Zair’s vitality. As soon as we cross, I’ll give you a new body and all their vitality, so you’ll be able to live a long time."
--….
When Joo Yi-Gyeol said nothing, Eda wondered if it was because of his guilt toward Emperor Sethian, and so she offered him hollow encouragement.
"There’s no need to feel guilty. This is all something Emperor Sethian brought on himself by not properly giving you vitality. You’ve done nothing wrong. Right?"
Eda’s crescent-shaped eyes seemed to press him for an answer. She had thought he might hesitate or be afraid, but Joo Yi-Gyeol’s response was surprisingly quick and firm.
--I don’t care. As long as you give me enough vitality and a healthy body, I’ll help however I can.
Eda, pleased with the unwavering answer, laughed out loud and stood up.
"Good. Then, let’s start right away."
Eda gave some orders to the two male guards standing still like puppets at the entrance to the chamber. They opened the door and left, returning shortly with a robed man and woman. From their clothes, they looked like mages from the Magic Tower, and unlike the guard men surrounded by an air of wrongness, they wore flushed faces full of emotion.
The man and woman were mages from the Magic Tower who, like Eda, had the ability to see souls. Eda had slowly prepared them over the past few years to serve as her hands and feet. Because Eda was none other than the descendant of the First Tower Lord, and because the two had become absorbed in her dimensional transfer magic, they followed her completely. The claim that they would complete the legendary dimensional transfer magic and follow her to become masters of another world strongly fascinated them.
Upon entering the chamber, the two men and women, seeing the brilliant golden butterflies necessary to complete the magic, couldn’t help but gape in awe. It was their first time witnessing the life essence they had only heard about, and their excitement was immeasurable.
Eda looked at the two of them, dazed by the sight of the butterflies, and clicked her tongue in displeasure.
"Stop standing around like idiots and get moving. Before someone else gets possessed."
"Ah, yes!"
"Sorry, sorry!"
The two mages bowed and moved at Eda’s command, but they kept sneaking glances at Joo Yi-Gyeol.
They first approached the glass bottles filling one side of the chamber wall. Inside them were numerous red butterflies lying as if dead, and the man and woman injected mana into the lids of those bottles to open them one by one.
Not only that, after opening each lid, they aimed their bluish glowing fingertips at the butterflies inside, and when the light flowing from their fingertips wrapped around a butterfly, they flung it toward the magic circle. As if tied to a rope, the butterfly dragged out of the glass bottle flew quickly and struck the magic circle.
The red butterfly that had struck it gradually turned liquid and was sucked into the grooves of the magic circle. The blood-like liquid the butterfly became began to fill the deeply carved grooves along the pattern. Then the other butterflies also flew in the same way and were absorbed one by one.
Before long, the magic circle was turning red, as though it had been drawn in blood.
--What are you doing with the souls?
Joo Yi-Gyeol asked with a trembling voice, and Eda casually answered.
"They’re ones addicted to the blood of the living and Prince Zair. Anything in excess becomes poison."
--Addicted to blood?
"To be exact, they’re addicted to vitality. The only reason you can handle others’ vitality is because you have a bodily filter and because you’re a connected being. Without those, the energy of the dead surrounded by vitality quickly crumbles."
As if she felt not even the slightest pity for the souls of the dead, Eda watched the butterflies fly into the magic circle and be absorbed, smiling as though she were enjoying it.
"Those are just masses of vitality wearing the shells of souls. Vile, poisonous masses of vitality."
Chuckling, Eda stretched out her hand toward the half-finished magic circle. More precisely, she was reaching toward the black curtains hanging to the left and right of the wall where the magic circle was carved.
A blue energy gathered in Eda’s hand, and just as the two mages had done, the black curtains covering the left and right of the magic circle began to move. As the curtains were slowly pushed aside, something familiar to Joo Yi-Gyeol was revealed inside.
Purple Idelo’s Flowers filled both sides of the magic circle as though a flower field had been stood upright, making his eyes swim. They were flowers so hard to obtain that only a small amount bloomed even in Sethian’s garden, yet the number decorating the walls beside the magic circle looked so great that it would take quite some time just to count them.
Eda looked at the magic circle gradually filling with red blood and the Idelo’s Flowers crowding both sides of it, and her shoulders trembled with pleasure.
The souls filled with vitality would activate the magic circle, and while crossing dimensions, the Idelo’s Flowers, full of abundant mana along with poison, would make up for the amount of mana too hard to bear.
What remained was Joo Yi-Gyeol and the vitality of the gemstone holder connected to him.
Unable to suppress her anticipation for what was about to happen, she licked her lips. Pleasant trembling and impatience made the backs of her knees tingle.
The glass bottles that had held the red butterflies were emptied one after another, and the grooved magic circle was now completely full of blood. Eda gestured to the two mages, who were watching with full hearts.
"Now, we’ll extract Emperor Sethian's vitality. Prepare yourselves."
The two mages looked even more excited than before.
"Finally!"
"Very soon now…!"
Their voices trembling with excitement, the two wizards looked at Yi-Gyeol; inside the glass bottle. Their eyes, now glazed with obsession, seemed to devour him.
They stepped forward, gazing at the bottle with rapt attention, and finally, injected mana into the stopper. The tightly sealed opening smoothly opened.
Perhaps worried that Yi-Gyeol might escape, the male wizard pointed at Yi-Gyeol in the bottle with his index finger. Yi-Gyeol felt as if something invisible was binding him, and he was slowly being pulled out of the glass bottle.
--But Eda.
"Mm?"
Turning with a pleased expression at Joo Yi-Gyeol’s words, Eda suddenly felt a strange sense of unease.
--I don’t think going to that world will be as easy as you think.
“…What are you talking about?”
Noticing the change in Joo Yi-Gyeol’s air, Eda wiped the smile from her face.
--Because I’m going to stop you.
Joo Yi-Gyeol’s low voice sent a chill down Eda’s spine.
Comments
Post a Comment