Chapter 235 – Penance.

“Nonsense! People hunt people?”

Usher couldn’t believe it. Not another animal, why the hell would a person hunt the same person?

“It’s not nonsense. Isn’t it actually happening?”
“But why?”
“No time to explain. We have to go deeper before they close the siege.”

But without even hearing the reason, they had to hurry. The voices from far away kept coming closer to them.

“The speed of chasing is too fast. Maybe it’s because of the traces.”
“If it’s a trace.”

Usher suddenly looked behind him. The footprints of the horses were somewhat hidden by the hardened ground and the large molds on the floor as they entered the forest, but the problem was Krikaliev and the raft they were pulling. Krikaliev’s footprints were clearer, and the raft swept the floor, revealing traces of mold that had been pressed down or removed.

“First of all, let’s throw away the raft and go further. It will be difficult to find footprints in areas with a lot of mold.”
“But a raft needs a lot.”
“I didn’t intend to throw it away if possible, but I can’t help it. I take only what I really need and leave the rest as it is.”

There was nothing else to do. All he could take from the raft was cloth, two pots, a small brazier, and the bag Usher had carried from the woods.

“Put a mask on the horse too. Drinking the spores won’t do you any good.”
– Purr.

When Usher covered his nose and mouth with the cloth he gave him, the horse let out an uncomfortable breath, but luckily he didn’t try to take it off. Afterwards, they left their weapons, rugs, ropes, and other miscellaneous items made of mangroves and hurried on again. After some distance, the distant voices began to disappear. That didn’t mean they had left, Usher knew instinctively. Rather, it meant the beginning of a full-scale hunt. They really want to hunt themselves.

He didn’t want to believe it, but the whole situation and his alarming senses told him it was true. Passing over numerous black pillars standing tall like trees, and passing through various molds filled with grass in between, they were advancing further inward. They ran for a while to get away from the hunters who were after them. Usher suddenly had a strange feeling. Is it because of the spores that fill the surroundings like fog as the forest deepens? Or is it because of the fungi that are densely packed and brushing your body?

For some reason, it felt as if the sound of the horse and Krikaliev’s footsteps were getting farther and farther away. He must have been riding on the horse’s back and going through the forest with them, but at some point it seemed as if he was running through the forest alone. What happened? When he stopped blankly, he stood alone in the forest of fungi.

“Mister?”

I looked around, looking for the horse and Krikaliev, but they were nowhere to be seen. It was just that he was alone in this forest.

“Uh, where are you? Are you kidding? Didn’t you leave me alone?”

He looked around and spat out words that were lost, but there was no reply. He couldn’t believe it. Apparently, just a moment ago, the horse had been carrying him, and Krikaliev had also been running beside him. No matter where I looked, I couldn’t see them. It was a time when I almost collapsed on the spot with a devastated mind.

[…

He heard a voice calling him from somewhere. I couldn’t understand it, but I walked to the place where I heard the voice as if possessed by a feeling I missed so much. Then, at some point, the forest, which had only been made up of black pillars, gradually turned into familiar trees, and her fog disappeared. Usher remembered those trees, this forest, this street corner. Because this was the way to find Belka in that village. He was already running. At the end of this road, it seemed that a girl would be waiting for some reason, and when I arrived, I saw a familiar red color.

The figure of the girl who was quietly bowing her head while hugging her knees. As he took her steps towards her, Belka jerked her body and lifted her head. And the moment you meet her.

“Get your mind on man!”
“Ugh?!”

Usher woke up from the impact of the blow on his forehead. Grabbing her forehead, she lifted her head, which had been lowered, and Krikaliev, whom she had thought had disappeared, was watching him, glimmering through her mask. His head throbbed and throbbed, trying to shake off his dizzy energy.

“Mister? What the hell was that?”
“I must have been hallucinating.”
“A hallucination, huh?”
“Yes, it seems that some of the fungi in this forest emit hallucinogenic spores.”

As he listened to Krikaliev’s words, he remembered what he had just seen. Was it really just a hallucination? Even though I was worried, I tried to shake off the tingling energy.

“But what about them?”

She took her mind off it and asked him. Well, they were being chased by those who wanted to hunt them just a moment ago.

“Once we managed to keep our distance, but it’s not a good situation.”

He clicked his tongue and looked back to where they seemed to have come running.

“They’re fairly tough. It seems like they’ve been doing this for a long time here.”
“That means…”
“They are veterans in their own way.”

In other words, he was very accustomed to hunting and killing people. Once again, the image of the valley filled with rotting blood and flesh came to mind.

“Why are they doing that?”

The appearance of the valley was not convincing because it was simply a mad thing. It would take a lot of effort to make a rope connecting the valleys in a place where it is difficult for plants to grow. Also, it was not enough just to hang a human there, and every time the rope broke because it was worn out, making a new one and repeating it until it was full of corpses must have been a very important thing for the people here. If so, it was clear that there must be a reason for that too.

“Why do you do that? I’ve heard rumors too.”
“What rumors?”
“First of all, people who live in Lagado often suffer from unusual diseases.”
“Looking at it here, it seems strange that it’s not like that.”

According to him, this place called Ragado was a land where the sky was covered with shallow clouds all year round and turned gray. It was strange that even mushrooms big enough to be mistaken for a mountain and large and small mushrooms grow in a place like this to form a forest and not get sick.

“What do you think is the most valuable thing in that situation?”

He thought about it for a moment, but, again, only one thing came to his mind.

“Isn’t it medicine?”
“Then, what would it be like if there was a panacea that could cure any disease?”
“I think you’d want to have it by any means.”
“So it is.”

So what the hell are you talking about, then Usher realized. What if the panacea that can cure any disease is not something like grass growing on the roadside, but something like an animal organ? What if it is human? Usher wanted to deny his idea, but Krikaliev’s words made it clear.

“People’s organs, especially the liver and gallbladder, are known as the panacea in Lagado.”

Usher doubted whether he had heard Krikaliev correctly. But, without questioning, he continues talking.

“From ancient times, it is said that the soul of the person resides in the liver.”
“What is it? That absurd story.”
“But what can I do? Because there was someone who actually believed that absurd story.”
“No way.”

It was said that there was a person who actually ate human liver.

“Even it really worked, and it was said that the disease that had no use for any medicine was cured.”

After that, I had no choice but to know what had happened, even if I didn’t want to.

“Then the valley…”
“That scene can’t last for just a few years. It’s proof that the people of Ragado have been catching easy-going people for a long time to get their livers and gallbladder out.”

That said, those people were targeting their liver and gallbladder for medicine to cure their disease. Usher didn’t know what to say at the fact that he would do such a thing to cure the disease.

“You don’t have to take it too seriously.”
“But aren’t those people desperate too?”
“So are you going to give me your liver to eat?”
“Ugh, not really.”

Even so, his own life was precious. Even if they were desperate, I couldn’t give up my life.

“Besides, there’s no guarantee that they’ll be desperate.”
“Yes?”
“It just went well. They increased the siege and widened the gap, so let’s send them through them first.”

Before Usher could say anything, Krikaliev led his horse and Usher through the white-and-blue mold that surrounded them and leaned against the back of a nearby javelin taxite to hide. He burrowed into the mold and hid, feeling suffocated even with the mask on, but he couldn’t complain. Soon, I heard the faint, familiar sound of people walking not far away. And the muttering grew louder and louder, and he was soon heard clearly.

“…I’m sure they came this way, but they ran really far. The captain seems pretty pissed off.”
“Tskz, that’s right. If I had been caught quietly, I would have died gracefully.”

It was the voice of two men. The sound of clicking his tongue was harsh, probably because he was a little older.

“I can only see a strange animal and one footprint. Did you say two?”
“One of them is said to be a pretty girl, but I don’t think he’ll die gracefully if he gets caught by the captain.”
Haha! Not even a captain. A bachelor at that age.”

Their voices were so low that you couldn’t hear them unless you listened closely. Perhaps, if it were not for the fungus forest, where no special sounds could be heard, I might have mistaken it for a snake hissing and skipped over it.

“Well, if she’s lucky, won’t you take her as her bride?”
“Say something that makes sense. Do you think that’s the case with that man’s personality?”
“By the way, is your son sick?”
“Yes, I decided to share one point instead of receiving my share if I catch it this time.”
“That’s good. That’s good. We’ve already got a good seat, so let’s find it first and win a lot.”

Their conversation was calmly talking about everyday life, but Usher felt a chilling sensation in each of their words. Are these really the conversations of those chasing after them for their organs?

“Still, it would be better if I cut open the stomach alive, because it will be fresher.”
“When will there ever be a day when I can catch such easy game in this district?”
“This time, let’s invite our friends in the neighborhood and have a drink.”
“That’s good.”

They flirted so quietly and passed by without a sound of footsteps. The more I listened to their stories, the more I couldn’t understand them. Could it be that they are not the voices of those who pursue them? I thought. However, the sound of their beating hearts approaching their ears told them that they were the hunters who were targeting them. It was then.

“”…””

Their voices stopped all at once. Usher wished that his growing heartbeat would go away. I was so worried that they might hear this sound. How long has it been since silence took over?

“I thought it was here because there were traces of it.”
“I guess it wasn’t.”

They seemed to be looking around, but soon the sound was getting quieter as if nothing had happened. The moment Usher tries to exhale in relief. He felt a cold hand cover his mouth silently, as if he knew it in advance. Because of this, Usher was looking up at Krikaliev, who couldn’t breathe and covered his mouth.

“Did you really see none?”

I heard the voice of a man who was not far away. At that moment, the feeling of something sticking to my whole body made me freeze.

“Let’s go further inside and find it.”
“Ghmm, if things get late, I’m going to get ripped off by my wife.”

Soon, Usher couldn’t breathe despite the sound of them moving further and further away.