I Captured the Enemy Who Tried to Kill Me - Chapter 39
‘S**t.’
I really couldn’t help but curse.
I made my choice, but to think I’d actually fall into a Gate.
This dry, stale air that made my mouth feel parched was definitely inside a Gate.
“Ugh.”
I raised my head.
A dark sky where the sun seemed forever absent, humid air that clung to me with sticky persistence.
The ground that sank unpleasantly with each step and the strange ecosystem of plants I had never seen before.
‘The scenery inside Gates is similar whether here or in South Korea.’
If a monster suddenly appeared now, it would truly be the worst.
‘For now, I’m still okay.’
I breathed slowly.
No, actually I wasn’t okay!
My heart was beating like it would burst.
Since no one was watching, I wanted to just sit down and crawl on all fours.
“What am I supposed to do?”
A loud noise echoed from far away.
I didn’t know exactly where it was coming from, but it was probably the roar of a monster inside this place.
My shoulders trembled so much that I had to clench my teeth.
“I’m scared. So scared.”
I felt like I couldn’t do anything.
The memory of dying, trampled by monsters that burst out of a Gate rupture, came vividly to mind.
I squeezed my eyes shut and held back the scream that was about to burst out.
I needed to walk. If I stayed here curled up like an idiot, I might become monster food!
I can’t go…
Then faces flashed in my mind.
‘Choices come with responsibilities, meow.’
The cat that spoke with a blank expression.
The little kid who wrote in cute handwriting not to fight with His Majesty.
‘Family Head, Family Head!’
The voices of the magicians who said I was their mental pillar and ideal.
And…
‘My mate.’
The man who, unlike himself, spoke such flowery words and confused my mind.
Right, I came here to save His Imperial Majesty, that insufferable, arrogant emperor.
I raised my hand. Then brought it down.
Slap.
Slap, slap!
Three times total. After hitting myself that much, my mind cleared.
I must have swung my hand so hard that my lip split. The smell of blood wafted up.
“Hillaria, why are this woman’s hands so painful?”
Groaning, I moved my body.
Fortunately, the training I received at the center while intensively working as a guide was deeply rooted in my mind.
This Gate had a mixture of various terrains.
But the fact that it was this quiet meant either an extremely powerful boss monster was hiding, or…
‘It could also be a mental attack-type monster.’
Either way, it was the worst.
And if the Emperor had indeed fallen here, I should be hearing the sounds of battle raging somewhere, but it was too quiet.
Apart from the occasional roar of monsters, I couldn’t hear anything.
I curled up like a caterpillar hiding in the undergrowth and held my breath.
‘The most important thing is to avoid encountering monsters.’
Either the Emperor had fainted from a power surge or…
He had been subjected to a mental attack.
The problem was that while saving the Emperor was good, I needed to save myself first.
I wasn’t an Awakened One who could protect myself, nor was I a real archmage who could freely use magic!
And there weren’t even proper records of whether magicians could properly fight inside Gates.
Magicians cannot withstand the air inside Gates. That means no one has properly fought and come out.
Though they said it was possible to attack monsters that burst outside due to Gate rampages with magic, so I should be able to do it too.
In a truly urgent situation, I’d just throw a fire spear and run.
“So the important thing is to quickly find the Emperor, restore him, destroy the core, and get out. And during this process, I can’t let him discover who I really am. Damn, is the quest difficulty wrong?”
I thought I should open the status window and change my appearance before meeting the Emperor.
Due to the sudden quest, I had fallen here without being able to change my appearance.
Long, flowing red hair, thin nightclothes that couldn’t keep out the cold, and vivid red eyes.
Hillaria. Not the mate the Emperor was desperately searching for, but my daytime appearance.
‘Duke Ariel in nightclothes.’
Kaisis would faint if he saw me.
With a hollow laugh, I calmly called for the status window.
But it was quiet.
“What? Why is it like this? Status window?”
My heart beat anxiously.
Ah, please don’t do this!
“Status window?”
Unable to shout loudly in this situation, I called out several times while holding my breath.
But it remained silent.
After a few terrible minutes, I had to acknowledge it.
The status window had become unresponsive and…
“This is insane…”
The difficulty of rescuing the Emperor had increased 100-fold.
“If the status window doesn’t work, I can’t use magic now, and…”
I can’t transform into the Night Maiden either.
“Ha. Haha.”
So I have to guide Kaisis as Hillaria and even save him? Now? Is that possible?
“Should I leave?”
No, I can’t even do that!
I felt like I was going to lose my mind.
Humans are truly fickle creatures.
I had felt uncomfortable and anxious about the status window controlling me, but now that it was gone, I felt even more like going crazy.
“Lucy. Hey, Guide! You said you were my guide. What am I supposed to do…”
I messed up my hair frantically.
For now, there didn’t seem to be any monsters around.
There were no traces of flying monsters either.
Since it seemed safe to move on foot, I decided to move quickly while hiding behind trees.
My heart beat more and more anxiously.
Since I couldn’t see the status window, I couldn’t check the Emperor’s condition, but if I could, it would probably be flashing red wildly.
‘If Kaisis really is alone in here.’
If that’s why the status window called me here.
‘The Empire is screwed.’
Forget about the original story progression, we’re heading straight for the destruction ending, all holding hands together, due to a Gate that went berserk after devouring an SSS-rank.
Then the scenery changed.
“I’ve left the forest.”
Looking around, I saw rocks with not a blade of grass in sight.
The rocky mountain terrain usually had bugs…
“Ugh.”
The fortunate thing was that they weren’t aggressive monsters.
That’s when I felt something chilling.
Yes, just like when I died.
‘Huh!’
I quickly rolled my body.
Then boom! Something landed where I had been standing.
I barely managed to suppress a hiccup.
‘Ugh. Disgusting.’
Stealthily hiding behind a huge rock, what I saw was a white, giant caterpillar.
An insect-type monster was crushing the spot where I had just been standing.
I felt like I was going to faint.
‘If I had been flattened there, I would have died on the spot!’
It didn’t attack people, but it was so big that just its movement was dangerous.
Looking carefully, there were holes all over the rocks, and it seemed these giant caterpillar monsters lived inside them.
Ahhh! Even while screaming with physiological disgust, my head, which had received thorough training, was telling me how to escape this terrain.
Right. Let’s do this.
I need to survive anyway.
That’s why I came here!
I gritted my teeth.
‘Kaisis, I will definitely get you out of here and save you.’
So don’t die and wait for me.
***
It was painful.
“Brother.”
A small child, his younger brother.
Kaisis felt a headache like his brain was being pierced with an awl.
His brother had always been cute like that, but why did he feel strange today?
Why did a mute brother feel more familiar?
Imagining such things made him feel like a filthy, terrible monster.
Just as his mother had said.
Kaisis wanted to hold his brother’s small hand that clung to him, but with many eyes watching, he shook his head.
“I’m sorry.”
“Brother?”
“I can’t play with you. Go to Mother.”
“I want to play with you, brother.”
“No, Luias. Go back.”
Knowing that those large eyes were becoming gloomy with disappointment and tears, he still couldn’t move freely.
The relationship between his parents, the Emperor and Empress, was terrible.
And the two princes each inherited their father’s and mother’s abilities, being born as an Awakened One and a magician, respectively.
The couple’s cold confrontation extended to their sons and to those who supported them.
So for the two young princes, daily life was a series of pain and suffering.
Just like now.
“You monster, what are you doing to my son!”
His mother, who had rushed from somewhere, snatched Luias’s hand.
And slapped Kaisis’s cheek as he stood still.
Slap!
