Published at 7th of November 2020 06:57:15 AM
Chapter 240
RMSBS - Episode 240 . A Subsurface War (17)
The scent of the hospital, which at first seemed unfamiliar, was now all too familiar to Desir .
Desir used to feel strange whenever he smelt it .
In fact, such thoughts were natural .
In his previous life, it was a hospital that he would come to once a year, but in this life, he had been hospitalized here almost every season .
Summer passed and autumn came, but in a rare twist of events, this time he was not the one hospitalized . The reason he had come was to visit someone .
Desir stared at the person in front of him .
A pale face . A woman of small build who at first glance might be considered a girl, lay on a white bed, sleeping so deeply that she could be dead .
Swan Katarina .
Her face, unable to wake from a coma after days of treatment, was as pale as a sheet . All visible trauma has long been treated .
“A lot has changed over the past week . ”
Desir spoke to no one in particular .
He took out a newspaper from his dimensional pocket and read it slowly . From the front page to the last page, all of the stories were about the Kingdom of Divide . Page after page, across all newspapers .
“The kings of the Western Kingdom Union escaped from the Kingdom of Divide without coming to harm . As they fled, they got a taste of the power that the Outsiders wield in Divide, while investigating the various war crimes that Divide had committed . Divide has since been removed from the Western Kingdom Union, and sanctions have now been placed on them . No country is allowed to interact with Divide going forward . The Outsiders won’t be able to cause further harm using Divide anymore . ”
Desir picked up some newspaper articles and placed them on the bedside table .
The data he disclosed had caused a stir .
Divide denied all of the data Desir released, expressing its opinion that it was an obvious ploy by the Empire, an attempt to divide the Western Kingdom Union . However, under close cooperation with the Western Kingdom Unions, various illegal research that Divide had been working on were revealed one after another .
“More and more, I’m able to get a feel for the core plan of the Outsiders . Based on the structure of the homunculus, the Tower Master is currently trying to figure out what Skull Mask was aiming for . With one of the king-pins of the Outsiders, Crow Mask, in custody, we can also figure out their true military strength and troop formation . ”
All he could hear was Swan’s shallow breathing .
“Thanks to you, all of this was made possible . ”
Swan exhausted Crow Mask allowing Desir to later subdue him . She also figured out the anomaly of the tower, revealing the hidden basement and all of the technology concealed there .
Desir placed the newspaper on the bedside table .
She may not be able to read it .
The spatial magic Crow Mask invoked was incredibly terrible, and she was treated too late . There was a high possibility of her never waking up again .
‘The Doctor said it’s a miracle that she even managed to stay alive . ’
Desir sighed with mixed feelings . Every time he saw her, these mixed feelings bubbled to the surface .
Swan already meant more than just man-power to Desir . He had some regrets in involving her .
Was the operation reckless? I shouldn’t have put her in . Or should we have moved together instead of attending the Great Council?
He trusted Swan too much and thought she wouldn’t get hurt . There were too many unexpected variables .
‘Choice… ’
There are always choices that must be made . While the result of this incident ending up being positive, there must have been a better option .
When one makes a choice, they make it in the belief that it must be the right one . No matter the strength of conviction at the time, the better option always becomes clear in hindsight .
It wasn’t just Swan that he lost .
‘… Many soldiers died after his choice to forcibly escape Divide . ’
No matter how short the fight was, the sacrifice made was enormous . If they had canceled the Great Council itself, they would not have been able to dig up the required information, but they would have saved the lives of many .
In addition, he had turned Divide into an enemy .
It was now hard to count on their strength when the Shadow Labyrinth appeared .
‘… ’
At the moment, Desir recalled what Skull Mask had talked about .
[-A world that follows the path of righteousness . ]
[-Everything happening as it should… ]
He insisted that everything could be righted . He wanted to go back and fix the mistakes of humanity that had come to pass .
His words continued to linger in Desir’s head .
[-Reorganize history . ]
[-The Great History . ]
‘Maybe… ’
*Squeak*
A sound broke the deep reverie Desir had fallen into . This surprised him as he didn’t believe anyone else would come . Desir looked towards the door to satisfy his curiosity .
At the moment, his eyes opened wide .
The world seemed to have stopped .
Desir opened his mouth .
“Adjest . ”
A strange silence ensued .
Desir couldn’t understand why Adjest was here .
While this wasn’t a palace, it sure wasn’t a place where she, a regular student of Hebrion, could enter .
*Step*
*Step*
She took several steps forward, before Sitting next to Desir .
With trembling hands, she touched Swan’s finger forlornly . After another long silence, Adjest opened her mouth .
“When she went to the tower, did she volunteer?”
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Desir nodded .
As if she already knew the answer, Adjest nodded .
“I was sure this was the case . She only ever did what she wanted to do . ”
She spoke as if she knew Swan intimately .
“Did her mission succeed?”
“Thanks to her, many people were able to survive . ”
“That’s a relief… She’d love to hear you talk about that . ”
Adjest had never shared her past with Desir, so he had no idea what she was thinking about, nor what had brought this about .
Just silently, they both looked at Swan . Swan looked so peaceful, as if she would awaken if they looked away .
“You knew Swan?”
“She was my teacher . ”
“It’s a big deal, to be taught by a Royal Guard . She must have liked you quite a bit . ”
“Factually, she taught me until she became a Royal Guard . ”
Swan Katarina has been a Royal Guard since the revolution about a decade ago . Desir already knew this about her . It was a story so famous that it even appeared in history books .
The family that Swan Katarina belonged to before becoming a member of the Royal Guard was also closely related to her appointment as Royal Guard .
Rogfelas .
“I didn’t mean to hide it . ”
Her voice cracked as she spoke and her head dipped forward leaving her white-blonde hair in disarray .
Adjest maintained that posture and continued to look down at Swan .
Desir just sat in silence .
They looked at Swan . It was as if she would awaken if they looked away .
They remained like this for a long time .
The sky was dark .
It threatened to pour down with rain at any moment .
The daily range of temperatures to expect was rather wide . This autumn day was unusually cool at sunset .
After visiting Swan, Desir hovered endlessly around his dormitory .
Frankly speaking, he was confused .
Desir had guessed that Adjest had come from a high-class family . Her behavior and manner of speaking were so luxurious that she had developed a certain aura of nobility and grace .
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‘Adjest is just Adjest . That doesn’t change . ’
He understood it in his head, but would he be able to treat her like before? This remained to be seen .
He was confused . His head was about to burst .
‘… This is not the right time for such trivial thoughts . ’
Desir shook his head from side to side, shaking away his thoughts . Desir found himself in a mess due to the cascade of unpredictable events that happened one after another recently .
Adjest’s remarks further disturbed Desir’s thoughts . Already, he couldn’t tell how many hours he had spent thinking about Adjest .
‘Let’s put it aside for a moment . ’
Desir put aside his thoughts regarding Adjest for the moment . It was because he couldn’t think of any good measures for now .
‘I have to think about what I’m going to do from now on . ’
Every time, he checked his plans for the rest of the year .
The first step was counting the remaining period of time until the final goal, the Shadow Labyrinth . The singular purpose he had moved with in this life was preparing for the Shadow Labyrinth .
The Outsiders were something that had to be removed to pave the way for the smooth clearing of the Shadow Labyrinth . So far, this was the only thing driving him .
However, Desir changed his mind after hearing Skull Mask .
‘Skull Mask said the Shadow Worlds were created to show how humanity should have acted to reach the best future . He is clearly intending to turn the whole world into a Shadow World . ’
The Shadow Worlds and Skull Mask were clearly related . He must have been acting in Desir’s previous life too . He must have done something Desir was not aware of . Skull Mask must have been moving to carry out his plan during that time too .
‘In my previous life… ’
In Desir’s previous life, the existence of the Outsiders was almost insignificant . Thus, Skull Mask never had to reveal himself, acting below the surface… in the dark . He must have been able to proceed with his plan without interruption .
‘Maybe it has everything to do with the Shadow Labyrinth… ’
Although he considered the possibility of this, Desir soon shook his head .
The Shadow Labyrinth was not like any other Shadow World . It was an uncontrollable disaster . The scourge of mankind of the like that had never been seen before .
‘For now, I’d better be concerned about it as one of the possibilities . ’
Desir clapped his hands .
The magic lamp turned on in response . The early evening had only just passed and it was now exceptionally dark outside .
‘More important than investigating the connection between the Shadow Labyrinth and the Outsiders… It’s almost time for the third wave of Shadow Worlds in this life . ’
Right before the occurrence of the Shadow Labyrinth, there would be one last wave of Shadow Worlds . They are due to appear next fall . The difficulty of them will rise quite a bit, just like the Shadow Worlds they had just completed .
‘There’s a few artifacts that I need . The Shadow Worlds that must be cleared are marked . ’
He was not aware of what objective Skull Mask was after, but with some careful planning, he can surely outmaneuver a fanatic like him anyway .
Every country on the continent was now moving, and Divide had found itself in a thoroughly unfavorable situation .
Soon, the Outsiders in control of Divide will be left helpless and inconsequential .
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‘The first goal is to remove the Outsiders completely before this third wave of Shadow Worlds occur… ’
That’s when he thought about it .
*Crash*
The window was smashed .
It was broken without any trace of what had done it .
Desir was left aghast, so he laughed in vain .
“This window can’t catch a break . ”
Desir, who had paused his thoughts, approached the window . Seeing the broken window, Desir looked outside, wondering if anyone had thrown something at it .
His face stiffened . The lake in front of the dormitory was blackened .
[-Students, please evacuate quickly . ]
*Beep*
*Beep*
*Beep*
At the same time, the alarm of the academy alerted everyone of the encroachment of a Shadow World .
‘No way… ’
Desir shook his head .
His plans and ideas for the next few months evaporated neatly in his head . His brain immediately processed the phenomena occurring in front of him, long before his consciousness caught up .
‘No, this can’t be happening . ’
But he denied the possibility .
It was impossible . It was never supposed to happen like this .
But soon after, the alarm was enough to drop Desir off a cliff of despair .
[-A global reversal is detected . Students, please evacuate quickly . We are currently checking the ratings of the Shadow World . ]
In a matter of moments, the crack expanded .
[-A Level Two Shadow World has appeared . ]
Chapter brought to you by The Patrons .
???: …
ED: N/A
TLC: N/A
QC: Dr Lock, Nhan