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Sponsored by Meowy. Thank you ? (6/8)
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*Seria’s POV (first pov)*
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“Tubaaaaan!"
How could it be so quiet……..the blood spread under my feet gave me goosebumps.
“Tuban, are you dead…?"
No way…I had the feeling that at any moment the monster that looked just like Tuban might return and snatch me.
"Let's go back now.”
As soon as I made that decision, I involuntarily reached out in front of me toward Tuban’s hair.
Suddenly I felt something foreign in this empty space. I reflexively turned around. At that moment.
"……!"
I felt like I was about to faint. I even dropped the weapon I was holding all at once.
“Lesche?"
Lesche was leaning against the wall with his eyes closed.
‘Am I dreaming now? Why is Lesche here?’
I habitually slapped myself in the cheek. Of course, I felt no sensation. As I was about to return to the real world, I suddenly thought, "What if it was really Lesche?"
‘If I leave Lesche here alone…?’
I know how to get out of here, but I don't think Lesche knows.
Suddenly I was scared. I immediately hugged him and shook his shoulders.
"Lesche? Lesche."
My voice was shaky, probably because I was startled by the unexpected situation. If he didn’t wake up, it would be a huge trouble, but fortunately, Lesche woke up instantly.
“Seria?"
“Lesche!"
He frowned and looked around.
“Where am I?”
”It’s the place I always visit …. Is it really you?”
I took a few steps back and asked. I couldn’t make sense of the fact that Lesche suddenly appeared in the world of Tuban.
Moreover, he appeared under a spell in a form similar to Mies…. I backed away, but Lesche didn't show any sign of discomfort. Rather…
“Even I’m suspicious of this situation."
Lesche said with a frown on his forehead and stood up lightly. That was all. Lesche didn’t take another step toward me.
“Stay far away, Seria….From now on whoever comes near you, you will cut off their heads.”
“I’ve never cut anyone’s head before.”
“You’ve been sleeping with a lot of weapons.”
“But it’s you.”
Even though I said this with my mouth, I was nervous.
"It's better to be wary of me, Seria."
Lesche gave a fake smile. He was much more unconcerned than I was, but that was all. Lesche must be quite bewildered by the situation. He must have come right out of the meeting because he was dressed in simple formal wear, but he pulled on his cravat as if it was tight around his neck. At the same time, his neck, which had been well hidden for the past few days, was exposed.
Aside from the fact that the love red marks have faded considerably….
The chain mark from his neck radiated a silver glow and disappeared. My eyes became wider.
I clearly remembered the shape of that chain. I had seen it when I married Lesche. I was later told by a priest that it was a kind of token that was engraved on Stern’s spouse.
I breathed a sigh of relief when I told Lesche about it. Then, as soon as I was relieved, Lesche came to me in a flash and took my hand.
“I’m glad you put me on a leash.”
“A leash?"
The moment I said to him let’s hurry and leave…
Lesche put his finger on my lips. In an instant, everything went silent. Lesche looked around quietly.
“I hear a presence over there. Let's check it out and go.”
“Should we…?”
I was secretly worried about Tuban's safety, and it was also true that I was curious that I could hear signs from this place, which was always quiet.
And it was incredibly reassuring to see not anyone else, but Lesche, in a space where there was no one else but me and inanimate Tuban.
Lesche bent down and picked up one of the heaviest swords of all the deadly weapons I dropped on the floor. Lesche, who had a good view of the sword, looked at me and said,
”You picked and held all the ferocious ones well.”
“…Because they are all on Bibi's list of recommendations.”
Lesche smiled. I picked up a small dagger and stepped over to Lesche, He said in a passing tone.
"I'm glad I went to the bedroom early."
I nodded and agreed.
"What did you do while I was sleeping?"
“I only kissed you.”
“Really?"
"I'd be happy if you allowed me to do something else."
"What are you going to do more? No! Don't say it."
Lesche, who was about to speak plainly, looked back at me with another laugh and said.
“I’m glad I didn't take all my clothes off and kiss you. We were all about to go naked and walk around here….."
“You really are….."
I was taken aback by Lesche making such a joke. Unlike my nervousness, this man didn't seem to be afraid too much. I wondered if there was anything in the world that he was afraid of….
This made me involuntarily look up and wrinkle my brow.
I was too scared to notice because I was walking around looking only at the floor, but the walls and ceilings were lined up with Tuban's hair like a Milky Way.
‘Did he mean to tell me to follow his hair?'
How long did we walk?
“Seria, wait…”
As soon as Lesche stood in front of me, I felt a foreign momentum from only a few steps away. I felt like I was held back by an invisible boundary.
“But I've felt this a lot somewhere…What is it?”
While hiding behind the rock along Lesche, I belatedly realized.
“Lina’s divine power?”
That sacred power could be faintly felt not only from Lina, the Stern, and Saint but also from Lina's husband, Kalis. How could Lina's divine power be felt in Tuban’s world?
I looked up and my face hardened.
Until earlier, it was a cave that looked like a night sky, but a strange space made up of Tuban's hair was revealed in front of me beyond the boundary.
It was a space that did not harmonize with the cave at all, as if it were made by cutting paper into pieces and carefully pasting them together.
There….
I was lying.
I was lying on a weird altar with magic circles painted all over it.
I was lying there as if dead, but it was definitely me. I had terrible bruises all over my body…………………………
I was not alone as a corpse.
There was a monster that I saw the other day that looked exactly like Tuban. That monster that tried to snatch my ankle was with me. And somehow, the monster exuded a sacred power that felt like Lina's.
‘Is it really Lina's guardian?’
At the same time, I realized. This was not real, it was an illusion. I had an instinctive intuition that Tuban was showing me the image of the past.
The monster was seen hugging my body and speaking in an anxious voice.
[I begged you not to abandon me…]
The tone and content of the voice seemed sad, but objectively it sounded terrifying. It was as if hundreds of people were speaking at once, and it gave me goosebumps.
[Knowing that your body is the only thing that can keep the moon alive….]
“……?”
My ears perked up for a second.
The moon?
Is my body the only way to keep the moon alive?
Yes, Mies, who was possessed by Magi, certainly said so. He tried to dedicate the circlet to the moon.
And that monster seemed to be trying to keep alive this thing called the moon by using me as a sacrifice. Does the existence of the moon hurt? Or…is it trying to keep alive something that is dead?
‘I wouldn’t want to be a sacrifice, so…Did I run away?’
Was that why the monster said not to abandon him?
[Seria Stern.]
Blood dripped from the monster's hands.
[This time, I'm sure.]
Just when I was distracted by the bizarre scene unfolding before my eyes, a low, evil voice penetrated my ear from the side.
“Seria.”
“Yes?”
Reflexively, I looked to the side and immediately flinched. Lesche’s eyes were filled with cold anger.
“Is that son of a b*tch called Tuban?”
“No, I don't know what that monster’s name is yet, but it's not Tuban. It looks similar, but…..”
As I said, there was no Tuban here either. Lesche sighed as if it was scratching his patience, grabbed my hand, and pulled it.
“Let’s see this side, Seria.”
“Huh?"
In an instant, my eyes opened wide in the direction where he stood.
The monster was quite large, and I didn't notice it because I was completely hidden on this side….
There was another person in that bizarre scene I was seeing.
Hair that shone brown.
Eyes of similar color.
Ivory skin.
Lina.
It was Lina.
There was Lina, dressed the same as me, as if dead. She had her eyes open and was dazed. I had goosebumps all over my body. I had no doubt in my mind that that was really Lina because I could certainly feel her divine power.
‘What in the world?’
Whatever the monster had done, my corpse disintegrated and disappeared in an instant. All that remained were bandages and clothing.
The monster hugged Lina and whispered.
[I even turned back time….]
"……."
[If you don't want to be thrown away, you have to succeed this time….]
It was a voice so cold that it made me cringe. But Lina dazed like a marionette, showed no reaction.
[Yes….]
[I don't have much time left. There is no more time. There is no more time. There is no more time. There is no more time. There is no more time. There is no more time. Time, time, time, time, time, time….]
The words repeated endlessly like a malfunctioning recording machine and gave me chills.
‘Have he gone mad?’
The seemingly endless repetition of the monster's words did not last. For the space with the scene had suddenly turned white and disintegrated. I felt as if Tuban stopped showing me the scene because he had shown all that I was curious about.
Right after I grabbed Lesche reflexively.
When I opened my eyes again, I was on the bed.
I was even more surprised when I reflexively looked to the side. Lesche was sleeping. I sat up immediately.
“Lesche?”
I shook his shoulders carefully as I called his name. But Lesche did not wake up.
“Lesche?"
“…”
“Are you trapped there alone?”
My heart sank. Suddenly a terrible feeling came over me. It would be really scary if he was alone there. When I lifted the circlet in a panic, suddenly both of my wrists got caught.
Then I fell straight into Lesche’s chest. Did he just wake up? I looked at him in surprise and immediately wrinkled my forehead.
I saw the mischievous look in his eyes.
“Lesche!"
Lesche laughed. He hugged me and turned me around. I was instantly placed under him. I glared at him fiercely.
“I thought you were trapped there all alone!”
“So you were going to rescue me?”
“If not, would you stay there forever?”
“I can’t let you go.”
No, now I was very serious. Was this guy joking?
I was really angry and clenched my fists.
