Children of the Holy Emperor Chapter 458

458. Kaya’s Breath (7)

When No. 21 destroys a suspicious altar. And when half of the assassins led by Olivier fell unconscious-

At the same time, a similar change occurred in the assassin who was confronting Seongjin.

Shake it up, shake it!

The woman who was engaged in a fierce sword-to-sword confrontation suddenly lost strength and collapsed to the floor.

Phew!

Seongjin, who did not miss the opportunity and plunged the nutcracker into her neck, took a moment to catch his breath and looked down at the sight of the life slowly fading from the woman’s eyes.

‘Did No. 21 somehow do it?’

It was a pretty formidable opponent. To the extent that one suspects that the identity of the soul controlling their bodies may be Noh Ik-jang, who has been honing his assassination skills all his life.

‘But since it was not the original body, the limits of the Auror class were also clear.’

If the amount of Aurors was similar to each other, I could confidently say that they were not inferior in terms of skill in using Aurors.

Of course, I don’t know what the result would have been if the opponent had jumped at the second, third, and fourth shots while switching bodies.

After confirming that there were no more hostile signs nearby, Seongjin followed No. 21’s sign and walked into the basement.

‘This… It seems like a fairly well-maintained base, doesn’t it?’

On both sides of the long hallway, food warehouses, armories, and lodgings come into view. Judging from the long history of use of the facility, they are probably a force that has been active here since ancient times.

I feel like I have some idea of ​​their identity.

‘Kaya’s Breath.’

One day, I learned in detail from Dasha about the genealogy of an assassination group that was operating in secret on the continent.

Among them, ‘Kaya’s Breath’ was the most active group in the northern region, including Ortona. A historic assassin group that mainly uses stilettos and once achieved a balance of power comparable to that of the ‘Hand of Oberon’.

Naturally, another question comes to mind. What on earth do they have to do with the freedom underpass?

‘If you create and move a secret base anywhere in the North, the radius of influence will inevitably overlap with the Free Underpass.’

Since I was protecting Giovanni from the time I met him, they probably don’t have an antagonistic relationship.

So, did ‘Kaya’s Breath’ become a subsidiary organization of Freedom Underground? Or is it just a cooperative relationship of giving and receiving help?

Seongjin, who had been thinking about that, stopped for a moment in front of a large room. It was a place where suspicious signs had been detected ever since.

When I peeked my head into the room-

‘… … .’

Sure enough, there were eight men and women in stealth suits lying quietly with their eyes closed.

Did we collectively fall into a state of suspended animation? Looking at the auror activity crawling on the floor, it seemed like everyone was not in a normal physical condition.

‘… ‘It doesn’t seem like he’s conscious at all.’

What was also unusual was that a significant number of them were women of similar age to the assassins who had rushed in earlier.

and-

‘Decision to burn… … !’

Seongjin, who confirmed the existence of the stones shining in each of their minds, clenched his fists without realizing it.

Should I say this is an unexpected achievement?

Even after holding such a grandiose launch show for Teosinte, we were unable to find anyone in Tere who had the right decision to burn it. But to find so many flame crystals all at once in an unexpected place?

‘Have these people also been taking stimulant tea for a long time?’

However, Seongjin’s premonition immediately denied that possibility. They cannot be considered naturally occurring salt crystals because they all had salt crystals in the exact same area.

Left skull. Flame crystals of uniform size shining at the midpoint between the parietal and temporal regions.

‘How can they do that?’

According to Dacianus’ secretary, it is very difficult to predict the location or size of Dacion. It has nothing to do with the concentration of the decoction or the period of taking it, and is completely determined based on the characteristics of the individual.

If you think about it, wasn’t the gray plague patients like that too? Because crystals were randomly generated here and there in the brain, most patients lost their lives as the disease progressed.

But they were all shining in certain positions. As if someone had performed a surgical procedure using the same method.

‘… No, I guess that went too far.’

This is a world where quarantine is done by spraying perfume, right? There is no such thing as systematic medical knowledge, so there is no way that medical technology to insert something into the brain exists… … .

But contrary to that flow of thought, Seongjin slowly approached them as if he was being drawn by something.

Then, I picked up the hair of one of the men who had his hair trimmed short, and saw with my own eyes a fairly long scar on his scalp.

‘… … !’

Seongjin hurriedly checked the scalps of others. However, when the woman lying next to her and the other woman next to her lifted her hair, an elongated wound was revealed in the same location each time.

Conclusive evidence that cannot deny the possibility that salt crystals were inserted from outside.

My fingertips become cold, and at the same time, my mind begins to spin rapidly.

‘In this world… In Delcross… Is there really someone who performs surgical procedures on a large scale? ‘Who on earth?’

The first person that comes to mind is Sigurd Sigurdson? He is a storyteller who walks through a thousand worlds, and he kills the personalities of normal people and uses them as his puppets. If he were that kid, wouldn’t he have enough motivation and think of the means?

-I cannot tell you in detail what I know about the Gray Plague. This is because it is also closely related to Sigurd Sigurdsson’s future plans. however… … .

Lady Isabella, whom I met not long ago, confided that to Seongjin.

-At least the ignorant act of planting monster eggs directly on people was not his doing.

What she said is probably true. This means that Sigurd Sigurdsson has a more sophisticated way of creating flame crystals than causing the Gray Plague.

Until now, Seongjin had vaguely guessed that it would be a long-term supply of medicinal tea to the continent.

But what if there was another way? There is a cleaner and more reliable way than that… … .

‘… No, it won’t be him.’

I don’t know much about it, but Sigurd Sigurdson was a guy with an aesthetic side.

In other words, he might have thought that opening a human skull directly was much more ignorant than implanting a Loferum egg.

Moreover, although it was only a moment, Seongjin had followed with his eyes the trajectory of Sigurd Sigurdson’s soul as he escaped from Isabella’s body.

‘It didn’t seem like he had many options back then.’

In other words, Sigurd Sigurdson had no way of producing such a large number of dolls at once.

So the next thing that comes to mind is… … .

‘Dacianus.’

Hmm, wouldn’t that make a lot of sense?

He came to the barbaric dimension of Delcross and wandered the continent for a long time to study the formation of salt crystals.

He is also an eccentric who willingly gave out decoctions to people at his own expense in order to observe the process of forming the walls of the soul.

If it were Dacianus, he might have done whatever it took to exploit the flame crystal he created.

‘Of course, Dacian is a person from hundreds of years ago. He’s most likely been dead for a long time… … .’

What if, after a long quest, he finally succeeded in creating a Dacion that was close to a milestone? What if, through that, his soul was preserved safely and he achieved the immortality he had longed for?

‘Then, the reason why my father went out of his way to give me information about him… … .’

That was when Seongjin thought about it.

[Lee Seong-ji!]

From afar, the Demon King’s flames flew towards him in a gasp.

[You noticed it too, right? There was something really big over there! It was a strange device designed to easily derive the laws of the normal world!]

Ah, yes. I thought so. If something difficult to explain, like magic, occurs in this dimension, the laws of the normal world are always hidden behind it.

Seongjin nodded obediently.

“okay. Let’s go together. “Before that, let’s take care of these first.”

[…] huh?]

Only then did the Demon King look around, startled, and sparks flew in all directions.

[omg! What are all these? Could it be that those were all bad decisions?]

“Yes, demon king. “Take a good look at them.”

[Well, what… … .]

“how is it? “Do you think they have any real soul left in them?”

At that moment, the Demon Lord was startled by what he saw, and his flames curled up and shrunk. Then, after a while, he barely answered in a hushed voice.

[…] no.]

“okay.”

Seongjin took out the last remaining stilettos. If these are people whose souls have already been completely taken away, it would be better to end them here so that they are no longer toyed with.

* * *

Seongjin left the room and walked towards the place where he could feel the presence of No. 21.

“… Lowering?”

Number 21 seemed momentarily taken aback by the terrible bloody smell that Seongjin gave off, but soon calmed down and asked carefully.

“Are you hurt by any chance? “What happened to the attacker?”

“I suddenly collapsed. “It’s thanks to you.”

“yes?”

“I think you broke the device controlling him. “Good job, number 21.”

It seemed that Seongjin was giving off a more dreary aura than expected. Number 21, who had been trying to press her mouth to report something more, noticed her secretly and shut her up.

“okay. “What exactly was here?”

Seongjin saw the shattered altar and the small beads rolling on the floor. That shape looks somewhat familiar. Could it be a soul stone?

Then No. 21 responded hesitantly.

“I’m not sure either. To me it looked like a devil worshiper’s altar.”

“… So you broke it?”

“yes. “First of all, it looked very ominous.”

“… … .”

Seongjin once again caught Number 21’s face in his eyes.

I thought he was young for an informant, but he’s just a cool guy. Fortunately, this place was not contaminated with demon energy, so if there really was a demon summoning circle, erosion might have occurred as soon as it was touched.

‘Anyway, that altar was a device that brought the laws of the normal world to the Delcross dimension.’

Thanks to No. 21’s hard work destroying it, it now seems difficult to find out any meaningful information.

Most of the marbles rolling on the floor were also cracked or shattered. Seongjin thought as he picked up one of them, a green bead that looked relatively healthy.

‘Also, if these are a type of soul stone, the souls residing here would have possessed the flame crystals and moved the assassins… … .’

At that moment, Seongjin sensed the presence of a group of people with highly refined prayers quickly approaching this place.

Those who can be said to be the true power of ‘Kaya’s Breath’ have emerged, not the idiots who have been easily defeated so far.

[omg? They all have flame crystals too? How did this happen?]

When a little more than a dozen assassins finally appeared in the basement, the Demon King’s flame quickly hovered over Seongjin’s head in panic.

As said, flame crystals of the same size were shining brightly on the assassins’ temporal regions.

Only one person, the woman with fair eyebrows who was leading them all, was an ordinary person with no bad decisions.

“… … .”

The woman looked at the messed up altar with a devastated expression. He probably knew exactly about the function of that altar.

‘But haven’t you met that woman somewhere?’

Seongjin tilted his head, feeling a strange sense of déjà vu.

‘That’s strange. There’s no way I wouldn’t remember a face with such a strong impression.’

As expected, Dasha can also be seen in the back. She seemed to have completely lost her mind, her whole body wrapped in rope, like a chrysalis.

Seongjin, who confirmed that Dasha had no significant trauma, became a little more lenient. That means she thought about mixing in at least a few words before brandishing the nutcracker.

So I said hello warmly.

“hi.”

Then the woman with fair eyebrows trembled and took a step back.

‘Do you know my face?’

Although he felt that way for a moment, Seongjin calmly revealed the purpose of his visit.

“I came to get my group back.”

“… … .”

“I also have a few things to ask you.”

But the other person’s reaction is surprising. The woman with bare eyebrows hesitated for a moment, then asked back in a fairly polite tone.

“I asked… “What do you mean?”

“… … ?”

Seongjin blinked his eyes. The first impression was so strong that I thought he would rush at me recklessly, but he turned out to be more polite than I expected.

“First, give me back my group. “The conversation comes later.”

Then the woman glanced at Seongjin and protested.

“Well, wouldn’t that be a bit unreasonable?”

“why?”

“Yeah… That kid is our prize. If you want the hostages back, you must give us a reasonable price… … .”

haha.

Seongjin’s soft laughter spread through the cool air.

“You talk so well. The master likes it. “They were planning to get rid of us from here in the first place.”

“… “Huh!”

Number 21 and the woman with fair eyebrows who were standing behind took a deep breath at the same time.

‘Hey, you! Please don’t provoke them anymore!’

Number 21 was so heartbroken that he almost died. Because he knew that with his skills, even if he died and woke up, he could not be their opponent.

On the other hand, the woman was embarrassed because she had hit the nail on the head. She looked anxiously at Seongjin and No. 21, and then burst out laughing.

“Well, then what are you going to do? “Our side is overwhelmingly superior in terms of power!”

She was right. There are more than ten assassins here alone of a similar level to the one who competed with Seongjin on an equal level upstairs.

It’s almost understandable that they rushed to Terre in the first place and tried to wipe out Seongjin and his group.

‘But why…? … .’

Seongjin looked around at them with a relaxed expression.

If you think rationally, it is a very hopeless situation. But Seongjin’s premonition tells him that everything will work out somehow.

Despite the superiority in power, the reason why Minja Eyebrow is unable to attack him is probably because of Seongjin’s extremely relaxed attitude.

“… … .”

“… … .”

That was when the two people continued their standoff in silence for a while.

“Don’t you think I can just watch this?”

“That’s right, we’ll just have to wait and see. I’m dying of anxiety.”

Breaking the silence, someone’s voice was heard. It was a large male assassin with Dasha tied up.

“… … ?!”

While the woman with bare eyebrows was shocked, the man, carrying Dasha, began to move towards Seongjin with strange creaking movements.

“Anyway, is he really reckless or is he full of courage?”

“Maybe it’s both. “No matter how much I look, I have no idea what he’s thinking.”

“Well, that’s right. “Because Mores is Mores.”

“that’s right. “Mores is none other than Mores.”

The man muttered to himself as if he were answering questions. At first glance, it was an extremely strange behavior, but the way of speaking seemed familiar to Seongjin.

‘… Herna? Kadesh?’

At that time, Bald Eyebrows, who had been blankly watching what he was doing, suddenly came to his senses and shouted.

“Marcos? How on earth are you talking? “I heard he will never be able to speak after undergoing that ‘ritual’?”

“I’m sorry, I’m telling you.”

“Yes, you can.”

“you… You’re not Marcos! “What on earth is it?”

The woman growls as she pulls the stilettos out of her arms.

Then the man called Marcos looked back with a strange creaking motion and parted the corner of his mouth with a grin.

“Oh, they kicked him out.”

“Yes, I kicked him out far away.”

“Let me tell you one thing, the reason you can’t speak is because your control over your body is too weak.”

“The one that came in to begin with was a very poorly made terminal.”

“That doesn’t mean we’re easy to control.”

“Yes, we are also enduring a lot of inconvenience.”

The man who had spoken up to that point finally dropped Dasha’s body in front of Seongjin, his eyes sparkling.

“So, Mores. You must never forget our help. got it?”

“that’s right. When we come back, this time we will play chess together. okay?”

Even in this situation, they were still crazy about chess.

fantasy,