HBWnovel Chapter 79
Chapter 79
Chapter 79
“What’s going on?”
“I-It’s an emergency! Sarah is... Sarah’s...!”
Thud!
The moment ‘Sarah’ came out of the old man’s mouth, Karen kicked open the door.
“What’s going on, old man?”
“Sarah went out at night, and... I think she ran into a Fog Ghost!”
“A Fog... Ghost?”
“F-For now, just go to where Sarah is. Hurry!”
Though Seol was happy that he found a clue to progress the Adventure, he thought it was unfortunate that it had come from Sarah.
‘Karen would be shocked if something happened to Sarah.’
Currently, Karen has been adjusting to her new life.
Seol simply hoped that this wouldn’t lead her to thinking negatively about her future as a shadow.
“Gasp... Gasp...”
Seol and Karen followed the man.
Karen, the first to arrive, stood still, simply watching.
“Sarah?”
“Big... Sis...”
Sarah was laying on a bed and it seemed like nothing was wrong with her. However, that only made Seol and Karen worry more.
“I... saw it...”
“Saw what? What did you see, Karen?”
“The monsters... hiding... in the fog...”
“...What?”
“Don’t... run into them... please...”
“Sarah!”
“I’m so... sleepy... Big Sis...”
Seol asked a question to the townspeople who were all there to see Sarah.
“What’s going on? What are these monsters in the fog and why is Sarah like this?”
“W-Well... that’s...”
“It seems like Sarah has been afflicted by the Fog Disease.”
“What?”
It was a bolt out of the blue.
How could a woman who was completely healthy, even just this morning, suddenly be sick?
“...Are you sure?”
“I’m not 100% confident since Dr. Gunt isn’t here, but I’m pretty sure. It’s exactly like what the early symptoms of Fog Disease looked like before.”
And unfortunately, there currently isn't a cure for Fog Disease.
“Damn it...”
Seol knew neither the cause nor reason.
It wasn’t an infectious disease, but it was still a terrifying disease that managed to infect half of the town’s population.
And Sarah had been infected by it.
“Monsters in the fog? What was she talking about?”
“Well... there were a few people who claimed to have seen something in the fog on the days it was thicker. No one ever had a proper look at them, but they were clearly not normal.”
“And Sarah saw them?”
“Since she said she did... Also, this is something that’s a pity, but people who saw the Fog Ghosts near the town have all...”
The townsperson shook his head.
Clench...
Karen’s face stiffened.
Dash!
And then, she suddenly darted off somewhere on her own.
“Karen!”
They had run as fast as they could to Sarah, and now Seol was running once more to catch Karen. Seol ran after her until he couldn’t catch his breath.
“Gasp... Gasp...”
Glow...
Fwirl!
Jamad was summoned and he immediately carried Seol on his shoulder.
“Hold on tight, I’ll take you to the elf.”
Stomp!
Stomp!
The difference in speed between Jamad and Seol was immense. Jamad overtook the distance Seol ran in an instant.
And eventually, they arrived at Karen who was wandering through the forest.
“Where are you?!”
“What?”
“Where are you, you fucking monsters?! Come out here already!” yelled Karen at her surroundings.
Even though she couldn’t see her surroundings because of the dense fog, she yelled into it with a sword tightly grasped in her hand, like she was sure something was there.
“Karen.”
“Damn it. Damn it. DAMN ITTTTT! Why... Why...”
“Calm down.”
“Why is it like this? Why? Why am I unable to do anything?”
“......”
“This is the first town I’ve ever liked since becoming a shadow... So why did it have to end up like this... why...”
Karen’s pain became concrete as it escaped her mouth in words. As Karuna was still sleeping, there was no one who could stop her sense of loss.
Jamad returned to the Shadow Space while Seol simply watched over her by her side, quietly.
Karen hugged her own legs and buried her face into them. She then quietly spoke to Seol.
“...I’m sorry.”
“Don’t be.”
“It’s unsightly, huh?”
“Not particularly?”
Karen grumbled.
“You know, back then...”
“How ‘back then’ are you talking about?”
“Back when Montra was still around.”
“Yeah.”
“I think it was so much easier then.”
“Easier, how?”
“It’s just... everything was more clear cut back then. I didn’t have to think and only had to listen to what Jin told me.”
Karen looked at Seol.
“Because Jin was right. All I had to do was help Jin, and he would change the world.”
“Gasp... Gasp... Sarah... Sarah, no!”
The moment they arrived at the town, Gunt immediately headed to Sarah’s house.
“Dr. Gunt is here! Everyone, come out!”
“Dr. Gunt! M-My husband is still...”
“Excuse me, everyone. I need to give an inspection to Sarah first.”
Gunt immediately went to inspect Sarah without unpacking at all.
Creak...
“S-Sarah?”
“...Dr. Gunt?”
“God, please. Please let it just be nothing.”
Sarah slowly sat herself up as if she were exhausted.
And after that, Gunt began his inspection.
Seol’s party and the townspeople stood by the door, hoping for a good result.
Creak...
Gunt then exited Sarah’s house with a stiff expression.
“D-Dr. Gunt, how is Sarah’s condition?” asked one of the town’s adults.
“...Sarah is afflicted with the Fog Disease,” responded Gunt with a grave expression.
“Oh my god... Such a kind child is...”
“How could a child like Sarah be afflicted by the Fog Disease...”
Gunt looked around at the townspeople with a downcast face.
“It’s not like diseases pick and choose their targets based on who’s good and who’s bad... Sarah is... likely going to fall asleep in a few days.”
“A-Are you saying that Sarah will die?”
Nod.
Gunt weakly nodded his head.
“Sob... Sarah... Sarah is...”
“W-We shouldn’t do this here. Let’s go somewhere else, Sarah could hear!”
Seol and Karen remained there for a moment before walking back into the forest.
Seol waited for Karen to say something first.
“What?”
“Huh?”
“Aren’t you waiting for me to say something?”
“No?”
“Hm...”
- No? (Yes)
- He’s reading your mood...
- When are we going to fight for summoner rights? Create a union!
Karen then followed up like it was nothing special.
“It’s alright. We expected this anyway.”
“Gunt was blunt.”
“Yeah, to the point that I wanted to punch his fucking face. Still, let’s go find him once the townspeople have calmed down.”
“Yeah, we have more things to talk about, after all.”
After saying that, Seol unfurled Chao’s scroll.
“Ah, right. Weren’t you looking for something?”
“Yeah, a man. But there’s no one who looks like him.”
“Who’s that?”
It was the face of a man with bleary eyes.
Even though it was a drawing on a scroll, it was detailed enough to be mistaken for a picture.
“I’m sure that this is the person who Chao wants us to look for, but I haven’t seen anyone similar. ...Huh?”
“Hmm... wait.”
Pause.
Karen and Seol both stopped at the same time.
And then they looked at each other.
“Is there anyone else other than Dr. Gunt who was expected to visit the town?”
“There wasn’t.”
“Then that presence...?”
The two both felt a presence beyond the fog.
And just now, Karen asked that question to Seol like she was asking for permission.
“Is likely the Fog Ghost.”
“I hope it’s right this time!”
Dash!
Click!
Unsheathe...
Karen pulled out her sword and sprinted toward the presence in the fog.
Flare...
Slash!
Her sword did not stop until it cut something.
This meant that Karen believed the presence was an enemy.
‘Did the Fog Ghost really exist?!’
Seol quickly ran after Karen.
Guaaaargh...
A rotting corpse was crawling on the ground.
Despite having its head cut off, it showed off its vitality and continued to crawl along.
Flare...
The corpse’s cut torso stopped moving after being burned by the fire.
The only thing that still moved was the monster’s head. It moved its lips like it was trying to say something.
“Give...”
Karen looked at Seol with a serious look.
“Master.”
“Don’t tell me...”
“Do you think they’ve chased after us?”
There was a memory imprinted in Seol’s head.
It was the town he visited through the Expedition System, Twilight Town.
And in that town were mysterious creatures and a person who controlled them.
Seol nodded his head.
“It’s him,” said Seol to Karen.
The Fog Ghost that was burning on the ground was also one of the same monsters that had given them a hard time in Twilight Town.