Chapter 136 – Dungeon (11)

Thud. With a dull sound, Seris was slammed into the wall.

“Seris!”

I hurriedly ran towards Seris. She raised her head and smiled awkwardly. A trickle of blood dripped from the corner of her mouth.

“Yoosung… Are you okay?”

“Hey! Is it time to worry about me now?!”

She took out the potion hanging from her waist and opened the lid. Seris opened her mouth, fed half of her potion, and sprayed the other half on her arm.

“How is Seris? Are you okay?”

“Yes I’m okay…”

Seris nodded her head weakly. The focus of the eyes was blurred.

‘Damn it, because of me…’

I turned her head behind her. As soon as Seris flew away, Belita must have exerted her strength, and three layers of fire barriers surrounded us. Thanks to you, I have a little bit of leeway. I turned my back to Seris.

“Get up.”

“…Yes? No. I can move… Ugh…!”

“Stop whining and hurry up. The longer you hold on, the more dangerous I become.”

It was only then that Seris quietly entrusted her body to her. Kara came running with a worried expression.

“Sister! Are you okay, sister?!”

“Yeah… It’s okay…”

“No, Seris is not okay. I think she needs to break through quickly.”

Kara’s complexion darkened. She doesn’t want to worry Kara, but things are just as bad. She, too, had to know the seriousness of the situation.

“Belita. How about the orcs? Have their numbers decreased?”

“No. The only thing dead is the one you just killed.”

“Damn it.”

It was frustrating to think that the orcs were waiting outside the fire.

“Kara, are you not hurt or uncomfortable anywhere?”

“Huh. I’m okay.”

Kara answered, but she looked at Céris on my back anxiously. Seris couldn’t even force a smile anymore.

Nervousness creeps in.

“Are Belita and Patrick okay? I’ll speed things up a bit from now on.”

“Good.”

“Okay.”

The two also nodded her head after seeing the condition of her Seris.

“Mr. Yooseong… If it’s because of me…”

“Quiet. You’re helping by just being still. Close your eyes and go to sleep. Then it will be over.”

“…”

Celis shut her mouth and buried her face in my shoulder. Her breath tickled my neck. Her breath was so feeble that her chest throbbed.

A disturbing thought ran through her head, but she bit her lips and denied it.

“Belita.”

“Uh. Are you ready? Open.”

The fire wall faded. As if waiting for that moment, the orcs shouted and charged.

The first to approach was an orc holding an axe. A large ax came aiming at my neck.

“Kara.”

“Huh!”

Kara intervened and dropped the orc’s axe. The magic of her swordsmanship is turning. She was the best of us at shedding her heavy attacks.

I passed by an ax orc. This time two orcs stood in my way. Belita’s sword mixed with fire pushed the two away.

I ran past the two orcs again.

After that, some orcs attacked, but there was no need to avoid them.

“Hey!”

“Get out of the way, you bastards!”

The things that got in my way were washed away by Kara and burned by Belita. Occasionally, Patrick would jump out and block the spear knife with his shield.

Thanks to that, I was able to reach the stairs to the upper floor, although it was very dangerous. However, the real problem starts here.

‘Damn it, it’s too narrow here too.’

The stairs were wide enough for two people to stand side by side. It is said that it is difficult to fight against the Orcs that are chasing them. If Seris climbed the stairs in a slow state, she would be caught by the orc shortly thereafter.

“Cara, take it.”

I held out Seris to Kara.

“Uh, uh?!”

Kara was embarrassed, but let go of her sword and put Seris on her back.

“Go up, quickly.”

“Yes!”

Kara climbed the stairs. When she climbed ten or so, she looked back to see if she felt something out of place.

“Isn’t your brother coming up?”

“I’ll go up in a little while. Go first.”

“What are you talking about?!”

“I will go up soon. No time hurry!”

“Aww…”

Kara looked back and forth between me and Ceris on her back, then her face twisted. She then turned her body around as if she had made up her mind.

“You have to come quickly!”

She ran up the stairs

“Mr. Yooseong…”

Seris reached out her hand weakly toward me. I tried to stay away.

“…Patrick and Belita, aren’t you going up?”

“Heh heh, young guys come out like that, so I can run away alone…”

“Don’t say shit, mister, go up.”

Belita violently pushed Patrick down the stairs.

“Belita?”

“If I go after you, how will I look at Auntie and Mary’s faces? Don’t risk your life to catch up and go up.”

Patrick’s expression became heavy as if his heart was weakened by the story of his family.

“I see… Please come up safely.”

Patrick ran up the stairs. Now, all that was left here was Belita, me, and the orcs running this way.

“Can you not go up?”

Asked Belita. Belita chuckled as she untied her tousled hair.

“What if I go? Can you survive alone?”

I turned my gaze to the crowd of orcs running. Looking at his bald head, he let out a sigh.

“No, honestly, there is no answer.”

“Yes, climber. In times like these, just be honest and say thank you.”

“…Thanks. Let’s search together.”

“Hey. Why are you running behind? Be prepared to buy dragon hearts when you go back.”

“That’s fucking expensive.”

“Do you pick?”

Belita narrowed her eyes. I laughed lightly.

“No.”

A bottle of alcohol is cheap for the price of a life.

* * *

Our house was not well off. Her father was an office worker at a public company and her mother was a full-time housewife. It was an ordinary family that could be found anywhere, and it was an ordinary happy place.

Until my 10th birthday.

The day I turned 10, I blew out the candles on the cake and my heart stopped for a moment. He fell to the floor and struggled in pain, losing consciousness after seeing his mother and father running towards him with pale faces.

It was a hospital when I lost it. My mother hugged me and cried, and my father pretended to be calm and wiped away her tears from a distance.

Fearing that I was about to die, I burrowed into my mother’s arms and cried.

After calming down a bit, I fell asleep. Excited about having something to talk about with a friend at school.

Such vague thoughts disappeared in consultation with the doctor.

– Blood vessels are twisted. The blood has coagulated involuntarily and is thick. As a doctor, I shouldn’t be saying this, but honestly, I don’t know how I’m still alive.

Doctors couldn’t figure out why I collapsed and I had to be admitted to the hospital.

Since being admitted to the hospital, besides my heart stopping, new pains have plagued me. The internal organs were twisted like weaving a rag and the pain felt as if the veins would be torn.

Even so, the doctors couldn’t even guess the cause of my pain and I had to stay in the hospital.

It was fine for a while though.

My school friends came to see me in the hospital, my relatives took pity on me, and my parents hugged me warmly and gave me hope that I would get better.

Thanks to that, I was able to overcome the pain.

However, when the diagnosis and treatment of my illness were sluggish and the seasons changed four times, things changed.

My friends who said they would visit me every week forgot about me. Relatives did not visit my family, and loud voices went back and forth between my parents.

I was only 11 at the time, but I could guess why my parents were fighting.

Hospital bills.

As the inpatient treatment continued, it became difficult to cover my hospital bills. Perhaps the reason why I lost contact with my relatives was because of money problems.

Anyway, whenever I saw my mother and father who were skinny after that, I felt like a sinner. Without me, if I hadn’t been born, none of this would have happened. My parents wouldn’t have had such a hard time. Guilt came flooding in. And the guilt I experienced at a young age was very heavy.

Decided to commit suicide

The reason my parents are unhappy is because of money, and if I die, there will be no hospital bills to pay. Your parents will be able to live happily ever after again. It was a decision that came out of such a simple thought.

And the night before the day I decided to commit suicide, someone touched my cheek. It’s soft, but there are calluses stuck everywhere. Mother’s hand

I didn’t open my eyes

“Yoosung.”

There was sadness in her mother’s voice.

“Isn’t it very difficult? I’m sorry mom. She would have taken our meteor to a better hospital if her mom had been a little more capable. It shouldn’t have been so painful.”

My mother’s hand trembled as she stroked my cheek. Her voice was wet.

“As for my mom, she dreamed of going on a world tour with our meteor one day. I went to the Eiffel Tower in Paris, saw the London Clock Tower, ate delicious food… I just… I just wanted to…”

The hand that was stroking my cheek moved away. I opened my eyes and saw my mother wiping away tears. She held back her cries just in case I woke up.

“Mom can’t…”

As if she had calmed down, the moisture in her mother’s voice gradually faded.

A soft palm caresses my cheek again.

“Because I can’t be a mother… My son must do everything for me. Later, when we meet again after a long time… Should we talk about it then?”

The water completely disappeared from her mother’s voice. The dry voice is the old, bright voice of my mother before I got sick.

“My son. Proud of my son.”

Side. My mother’s short kiss touched my forehead.

“Love you.”

After saying that, the mother got up from her seat. I didn’t wake up until the end thinking that I was going to die tomorrow anyway.

And the next day, my mother was hit by a car and died. Overdue hospital bills were paid by her mother’s insurance money.

I regret that day

Her mother chose her day by giving up everything of her own. And the world forgot her mother. Her mother’s family, relatives, friends, even my father. She tried to forget her mother.

They left her mother’s things in the house. I tore up the picture and tried to forget it from her memory. My father made a new home with my stepmother.

Now there is no trace of a mother’s existence in the world.

…Except for me.

Dark hair and dark eyes.
Appropriate face and height.
The name Han Yuseong.

They are all the last traces left by mothers in the world.

I can’t change or do it my way.

You can’t even die at will.

No matter how painful, no matter how servile, you have to live. That is the only way I can atone for my mother, and it is my duty since that day.

I struggled to lift my heavy eyelids. Blood flowed from the torn forehead and wet his left eye. The other eye could see Belita’s back fighting the orcs.

‘Damn it, how much do you sleep?’

Why are you lying down in the first place? Where did you get hit?

No, that’s not important right now.

I hit the floor to get myself up. A sharp pain passed through his arm and spread throughout his body. My impressions were immediately frowned upon.

‘Is it broken?’

No, it hurts, but seeing as I can move, I don’t think it’s broken. It’s probably cracked at best.

I put my hands on the floor and tried to force myself up. A throbbing sound came from all over his body, but he endured it. I had to keep pace with Belita as quickly as possible.

“Die, you bastards!!”

As Belita swung her sword, the flames around her extended like a whip and hit her orc. She didn’t stop there and stepped on her advance with her right foot. Six flames spread out from her center. Her orcs fell from her, stepping behind her.

At first glance, Belita seems to be doing well. However, the reality was different. It is the final spark she has squeezed out of everything. If we don’t help quickly, they will all burn up.

If so, the end was obvious.

However, unlike my mind, my body did not move well. Even though I was desperate, my legs trembled and I immediately sat down.

The piercing pain also blurred my eyes for a moment and deafened my ears.

No…

You can’t fall asleep like this.

She still hasn’t kept her promise to her mother…

The heavy eyelids closed. His face darkened and his limbs gradually lost sensation.

Consciousness slowly fades away.

.
.
.
.
.

The consciousness that had been distant became clear. The pain that had plagued her body had disappeared, and her eyelids, which had been as thin as a thousand pounds, were light. Yuseong, puzzled, opened her eyes.

A dark room where you can’t see anything ahead. Five candles were lighting inside.

For some reason, he seemed to know what that candle was.

“I promise… I can keep it.”

Yooseong looked at the candle. A familiar face hung in the candlelight.

Mother.

You wanted to go on a trip. Let’s go together. Travel. I’ll wake you up when the time is right.

When you wake up, it will be a little different from the world your mother remembered. Don’t be too surprised or disappointed though. There are so many pretty and wonderful things here.

You may be embarrassed by my changed appearance. You may not even recognize it. But in the end, I believe that you will hug me with a benevolent smile.

You said you wanted to see the wedding, right?

We will prepare the most wonderful wedding in the world, so please come and shine.

There are so many things I want to say to my mother.

Mother, the day you woke up, we talk all night.

Therefore…

“Please wait a little bit until then.”

Yuseong blew out the candle. One candle went out powerlessly.