Chapter 197: Two Crazy People

Ramin was hit with a surreal feeling when a figure she had only heard about in stories appeared before her.

“Sairan… Muel?”

"Greetings can wait."

Then the Siege Golem swung its massive stone fist. Sairan blocked it with his shield and charged forward. The Siege Golem lifted its foot to stomp on Sairan, but he smoothly slided between the Golem's legs and turned around, swinging his tail at the Siege Golem’s heel to make it fall to the ground. Sairan then leaped up and plunged his sword into the Golem’s chest as it struggled to get back up. Even though it was made of solid rock, the blade sank in more than halfway. However, the Golem's movements didn't stop.

Ramin shouted, "It’s a Golem, so its core must be on the inside!"

“I know.”

Sairen pushed down the hilt of the sword with his foot, and the sword went in as if there was no friction at all and pierced through the Golem’s core.

The Golem's arm, which had extended out to fight back, suddenly dropped helplessly.

Sairan then took out his sword, and Ramin limped toward him.

"Remarkable skills."

"...Sure."

"But it's a bit too early for introductions, right?"

Ramin looked ahead. There wasn’t only one Siege Golem. Suddenly, around twenty Siege Golems appeared, seemingly guarding the Fang agents and security guards who were running away. To make things worse, she could see in the distance a giant unidentifiable shadow. It was likely a well-known guardian who had fought under the Angry One for a long time, and not just a creature creation made when one was needed on the frontlines.

‘I've never seen so many Golems deployed on a battlefield like this. Even if we break through those Golems…’

Sairan shook his head.

“Don’t worry. I’m not the only one who followed Lakrak here.”

“Pardon?”

Sairan raised his head and looked to the top of the hill, and Ramin’s gaze followed. Other Lizardmen were emerging on the hill. They all shone blue like Sairan and all had black scales.

“In the name of Apostle Lakrak!”

They were all mounted on the well-known rides of Black Scale, Cockatoos.

"For the will of the Pantheon!"

Then a golden spear flashed and soared into the sky.

“For Night Sky!”

Then the army charged. Shaking the ground with every step, the Cockatoos raced ahead of Sairan and Ramin, charging into the fray of Siege Golems.

‘The cavalry is charging at the Golem? That’s suicide.’

That was true according to Ramin’s common sense.

The Siege Golems’ role was to disrupt their formations and sweep the approaching cavalry away. But of course, common sense was of no use for the old warriors. With a single charge, the Golems fell over.

Then a warrior riding a Cockatoo came from behind and spoke to Sairan. Ramin noticed this Lizardman warrior only had one eye.

“Go, Sairan Muel.”

"...Tatar."

"Don't let anyone slow you down anymore. Go and do what you must do."

“Alright.”

Tatar handed Sairan the reins of the Cockatoo that no one was riding on. Sairan got onto the Cockatoo first and then reached out to Ramin, who struggled to climb onto its back.

"Did I just meet Tatar? The one who fought and defeated ten Trolls?"

"Yes."

Sairan urged the Cockatoo forward. The Cockatoo raced in between the gaps of the fighting Lizarmen and Golems, and finally, the great distance between them and Del began to narrow.

***

Thunder and lightning. Earthquakes and the land’s cries. Even if one claimed that the world was being recreated, people would have no reason to doubt it.

Behind a hill, the fight with the apostles continued.

"Something is chasing us!"

Del, the red-masked Fang agent, growled, “Something? Be more specific.”

“...It’s a Lizardman riding a Cockatoo. And the Vampire we were chasing is also on it.”

Del realized they had failed. They had thought they could easily kill the Vampire escaping through the narrow tunnel of the mine, but the agents and guards who had entered the tunnel only lost contact. They had succeeded in capturing the Saint, but what they had to do next was still undecided.

‘Should we kill the Saint? Should we do it now?’

But Del couldn't be sure what the exact situation was right now. The Devil had surely planned something, but it was difficult to know their true intentions.

‘Shit.’

One of Del’s subordinates said, “The enemies have gotten close!"

“Everyone stop! Lose the enemy on our tails!”

The well-trained guards and the Fang agents turned around. The guard officer immediately gave the order to fire.

"Aim!"

Ramin ducked fully behind the Cockatoo.

Sairan said, "There's no need for that."

"What?"

"Electromagnetism has a more fundamental power than we thought."

Ramin found the new term surprisingly familiar.

"Fire!"

Bullets flew towards Sairan. Sairan then made a casual gesture, like dusting off dirt in the air, and the flying bullets dropped to the ground as if being pulled by the earth before reaching him.

"…!"

Before the guns could even be loaded, Sairan's Cockatoo jumped at the guards.

Every time Sairan swung his spear, the guards ran away in fear, and the Cockatoo embedded its claws into the backs of the fleeing enemies.

Ramin then jumped off the Cockatoo and rolled on the ground, piercing through the guards.

"...Hwee-Kyung!"

The Fang agents took out their guns and blocked Ramin’s way, but Ramin's dagger struck the first agent’s forehead, and the second was slashed across the chest by lightning. Ramin then slid past them and pulled out the dagger from the agent’s forehead to narrow the range of fire. The Fang agents drew their swords and began to fight.

'It's clear.'

Although she felt exhausted and her sword felt heavy, Ramin couldn't help but dodge the enemies’ attacks because they were too simple and boring. It even felt a bit humorous to Ramin. Every enemy seemed to be attacking in predictable patterns, making it easy for her to dodge, block, or counter attack. The occasional gunshots were a bit concerning, but compared to the fast bullets, the wrists holding the guns seemed slow and clumsy.

'They're all one lump. It looks like they’re dancing awkwardly. Why didn't I see this before?'

She felt like she could see them clearly. No, Ramin could actually vividly picture what was beside and behind her, where her opponents were. She didn’t have any intentions of doing anything risky, but she believed she could dodge their attacks even with her eyes closed. All Ramin had to do was dodge their attacks and thrust or swing her sword to reduce the number of attackers one by one. As time passed, fights typically became harder, but, absurdly, it was becoming easier for Ramin.

For Ramin, it was just a feeling, but the players could directly see Ramin's progression through her stats.

Ramin's Swordsmanship had surpassed level 4, reached only after long training by those with natural talent, and reached level 5, which was obtained only by a few throughout the ages.

The last enemy fell, grabbing their severed artery on the left side of their neck.

"Stop."

It was Del. Next to Del, agents stood with their swords pointed at Hwee-Kyung and Juran's necks.

"If you move, they die."

Ramin hesitated. But then a voice came from behind.

"That won't happen."

"Stop."

"There aren't many who can command me."

Sairan walked in front of Ramin.

Del then lowered their hand and immediately gave a signal.

The two swords that seemed to be pressing into the hostages’ necks suddenly began to shake.

"The swords...!"

With a wave of Sairan's hand, the swords flew out of the agents' hands and into the air. Whatever power this was, Del had no way of knowing.

Del quickly made a decision. There were two options: draw their gun at Sairan, or grab the hostages themself. But they weren’t confident either would work. Del was afraid of not just the incomprehensible Lizardman before them, but also of Ramin, who was like a living corpse.

'I can't die as a failure. I must find an opportunity to redeem myself.'

So what Del chose was a smoke bomb.

Ramin, in shock, rushed behind Hwee-Kyung and Juran to protect them. For a moment, everything was dark in the thick smoke. Then, the wind blew and revealed the surroundings again.

Ramin heard the agents running into the forest behind them and thought about what to do.

"Um, Sairan...?"

Turning around, she saw Hwee-Kyung and Sairan looking at each other.

Sairan kneeled on one leg.

"It's been a while, Hwee-Kyung."

Hwee-Kyung opened her mouth to say something.

"I, uh..."

"I came to apologize to you."

"You're insane."

There was no room for excuses. Leaving a loved one behind, and even leaving their own life behind just to follow God’s will was madness.

Sairan bowed his head.

"It was an...unavoidable choice. I believed there would come a time to explain, but it took too long. Hwee-Kyung, I will ask for forgiveness, but please don't forgive me."

"Look at me."

Hwee-Kyung bit her lip and wiped her eyes.

Sairan raised his head.

"Apologize while looking into my eyes."

"Don't forgive me."

Hwee-Kyung slightly shook her head.

"What kind of apology is that?"

"...Hwee-Kyung."

"Say it. Ask me to forgive you."

After a moment of silence, Sairan raised his head again and met eyes with Hwee-Kyung.

"...Please forgive me."

Hwee-Kyung wiped her eyes once more with her wrist.

"I’ll think about it." Then with all her might, Hwee-Kyung pulled Sairan into a tight embrace.

"I’ll think about it for a very long time."

Hwee-Kyung cried.

Sairan then raised his hands to seemingly hug her back, but hesitated and slowly lowered his hands.

Hwee-Kyung punched Sairan's shoulder.

"What are you doing?"

"Huh?"

"Hurry and hug me tight."

Sairan sighed softly and followed Hwee-Kyung's wish. He felt his back become wet.

"You're crazy too."

No explanation was needed. There weren’t many crazy people in this world who would defy the will of God. And someone who tried to atone forever, thinking that their loved one might suffer even after their death, wasn’t sane.

Sairan didn't ask how she had endured all the suffering. He thought that Hwee-Kyung probably knew that the One Who Stands Behind wasn’t truly Night Sky, but she was worried about the tiny possibility that it really was. And because of that tiny possibility, she had endured everything for more than a hundred years and would have continued to do so.

'You valued yourself enough to risk everything for your own gamble, so why did you throw everything away for me?'

However, Sairan didn’t ask this; he already knew the answer.

***

-Sairan.

Sairan turned to the voice calling out to him.

From the darkness, a figure wearing a hood approached him.

-And Hwee-Kyung, Ramin, Juran.

Ramin replied, "...Who are you?"

-I am Bion, messenger of the Pantheon. Sorry to interrupt your reunion, but the Pantheon has summoned you all.

“Pardon?”

-We will move there immediately.

Bion stomped their foot.

Then, Ramin felt the world turn upside down, and when she opened her eyes again, she found herself in a world of green.