Chapter 23

“Hm? Who are you?”

A palm-sized humanoid creature was floating above the stone altar, looking down at me. Her pale skin was giving off a faint glow of silver, complementing her bluish-silver hair that was flowing weightlessly in the air. A clear pair of pale blue eyes reflecting the moonlight seemed to look directly into the soul of anyone she saw. Three pairs of thin, light, and translucent wings were on her back, and her clear voice could take the attention of anyone nearby. Everything about this creature in front of me looked otherworldly and ethereal, making me forget how to talk.

‘Beautiful…’

“Hey. I’m talking to you.”

‘Is she some kind of Mystical Creature? I never heard about any Mystical Creature that looked so much like a human.’

“Hey. Can you hear me?”

‘I thought that Mystical Creatures were just animals that somehow managed to cultivate inner energy and create a core inside them, but she did not look like any animal.’

The mysterious creature, who got pissed because her question kept being ignored, flew at high speed and kicked me right on my forehead.

“ANSWER MY QUESTION DAMN IT!!!”

“GAH!?”

She was tiny, but her kick combined with the speed she came at me with really packed a punch. It hurt.

“That hurts! What the fuck is wrong with you!?”

“Hah!? You’re the one who kept poking me while I was sleeping and ignoring me when I asked who you are, you brat!”

“Brat!? You’re smaller than me and you called me a brat!?”

“No matter how I look at you, you’re a brat! You probably haven’t even grown any hair down there!”

“H-How vulgar! And you don’t know that! And if I’m a brat, then you’re a bug! You even have bug wings on your back!”

“Bug!? You called me bug!? These wings on my back are proof of my status as a high-rank spirit, and you called me a bug!?”

“Spirit? You? Ha, what a funny joke! If you’re a spirit, then I’m the King of England!”

“I don’t know what ‘King of England’ is, but I know you’re making fun of me right now!”

“Of course I’m making fun of you! As if an elegant and ethereal spirit would say something so vulgar!”

GYAA! GYAA! GYAA!

For a while, the sound of us arguing was the only thing filling the cave.

…

Plop. Plop.

After the intense bickering we had, the cave turned quiet. So quiet, in fact, that the only sounds that could be heard were the sounds of water dripping from the stalactites.

“Guh…!”

It seemed all that screaming put a strain on my already battered body, and the hole in my left shoulder started to get painful again, only this time I could see that pus had started to come out.

‘Damn it, it got worse. Beginner-level healing magic really isn’t enough to treat this injury.’

I stayed still, trying to hold back the pain while still sitting on the ground. My body’s temperature had increased, and cold sweat started to seep out from my skin, dripping off my face and drenching my clothes. My condition was clearly starting to deteriorate, but I didn’t have any means to treat myself. The Mana I had recovered before had been sucked dry by the stone altar, and the self-proclaimed spirit who came out of it was still pouting and keeping quiet, still upset about our earlier argument.

‘If I can’t get any treatment, the least I can do is to make myself comfortable.’

Standing up, I made my way back to the stone altar. The cave was already bright now after I activated the runes inscribed on the stone altar, but the ground here was still uneven. I didn’t feel too good and wanted to lie down, and the altar was the only place smooth enough for me to lie down comfortably.

The self-proclaimed spirit glanced at me the moment I stood up, and I could feel her eyes following me as I walked to the altar. It could be easily deduced that the altar was something special to her and that she probably would not like it if I used it as a bed, but I don’t really care. I just really needed to lie down somewhere.

Climbing up the altar, I lay myself down on it while clutching my left shoulder. Maybe it’s just my imagination, but I could feel that I got a little bit better lying down here. My breathing became calmer, and the cold sweat stopped. More importantly, the pain lessened considerably.

“Haaahh… Haahhh…”

Closing my eyes, I started to fill up my Mana reserve inside my heart again. I’m lying down on top of the very thing that sucked all my Mana dry, but as long as I don’t channel my Mana to it again, it should be fine, right? That happened because I carelessly activated the runes after all.

“That injury…”

I was surprised that she suddenly came and talked to me and didn’t even sound angry, but I just let it go and kept my eyes closed while absorbing and converting Ether in the surroundings into Mana.

“What about it?”

“How did you get that?”

“A Dark Mage attacked me.”

“A Dark Mage?”

“Yeah. Someone I know asked me for help desperately, saying that his sister got kidnapped. After tracking the kidnapper, I successfully defeated all of them and rescued the kidnapped girl. But then, a Dark Mage appeared. There’s no way for both of us to run away from the Dark Mage, so I stayed behind to hold him back while the girl ran away by herself back to the town to ask for help.”

The look in her eyes turned complicated when she heard my story. It’s like a mix of sadness and longing, maybe even fear? I don’t know. What I know is that the way she looked at me softened a bit.

“Anyway, while I was keeping the Dark Mage occupied, I failed to react to one of his attacks, and he pierced my left shoulder with one of his black and long, wriggly, creepy tendrils.”

“Hmm… What’s a Dark Mage?”

‘Eh? I should start from there?’

“A Dark Mage is a mage who made a contract with a Demon.”

“I see. Demon Worshipper. So they still exist even now.”

“Demon Worshipper?”

“That’s what we called those Dark Mages a long time ago.”

“How long was a long time ago?”

“Depends. How long ago were the Celtics?”

“Celtics? I don’t even know what they are.”

“Then it’s long enough for them to not be known anymore.”

She looked genuinely sad after saying that but immediately switched back to the topic at hand.

“Anyway, that injury. If it was caused by a Demon Worshipper, then normal treatment, even with healing magic, would not be enough.”

“Huh?”

“Some of the Demonic Energy has seeped in from that injury and acts as poison. It will gradually destroy your body if you don’t get proper purification.”

“Poison?”

Now that I think about it, I don’t think much time has passed since I got this injury because I can still see the sky and the Full Moon in the sky through the small opening on the ceiling of the cave directly above the altar, and it’s already starting to fester. The speed of my body’s deterioration was not normal. It’s too fast.

“But, you’re lucky that right now you’re in the right place.”

“Right place?”

She nodded her head.

“This place was used by the Celtics as a place of worship. They were worshipping the Goddess of Moon, Arianrhod, at this place. The altar you’re laying on is where they placed their offerings and received blessings from the Goddess.”

“I see. Then why am I lucky? If this altar is where people placed their offerings, then did I just make myself an offering? Or wait, will I get a blessing?”

“Don’t hope too much. Not everyone can receive the blessing of Lady Arianrhod, and in the first place, her influence in the mortal realm has waned considerably. She barely has any. But because this place was used for a long time as a place to worship her, there are still some traces of her power left. Don’t you feel better after you laid down on the altar?”

“I do feel much better.”

“That’s because Lady Arianrhod has the power to dispel evil and wicked beings, Demons being among them.”

“Then, can I be treated here?”

“You can. With the last traces of Lady Arianrhod’s power, me, and the fact that right now it’s a Full Moon, I can heal that much Demonic Energy even in my current state.”

“In your current state? So this is not your true form?”

“Of course not. I told you, I’m a high-rank spirit. I got weakened because of what happened a long time ago and decided to put myself into a long slumber to not die.”

“I don’t really get it, but I see.”

I nodded my head, acting like I understood even though I had no clue about what she was talking about.

“Anyway, the fact is that right now I’m the only one who can help you, and I also need your help. Because you woke me up from my slumber, I need a host to keep my existence in the mortal world. In other words, I need a contractor.”

“So you want to make a contract with me?”

“No. You’re not suitable. A spirit can only make a contract with a human who is innately suitable with them.”

“Then what should I do if I can’t make a contract with you?”

“Give me your Mana periodically and help me to find someone suitable to be my contractor. If you promise to do that, I will help you.”

“Well, I have no other choice, do I? I agree.”

Raising my upper body, I looked her straight in the eye.

“My name is Cheon Hwi. What’s yours?”

“Lirael. I’m Lirael, the Handmaiden of Lady Arianrhod, the Goddess of the Moon.”

“Then I, Cheon Hwi, son of Cheon Hyeon-Seok, promise to help Lirael, the Handmaiden of Arianrhod, the Goddess of the Moon, in whatever I can until she finds someone to be her contractor.”

Lirael smiled, hearing the promise I made to her, then replied with her own promise.

“I, Lirael, the Handmaiden of Lady Arianrhod, the Goddess of the Moon, accept Cheon Hwi’s promise and also promise that I will treat his injuries and cleanse him of the Demonic Energy currently poisoning his body.”

We laughed a little bit after reciting our promises. The moment we met, we immediately started to bicker with each other, so this situation was kinda embarrassing.

“Okay then, Cheon Hwi. Lay down on the altar again.”

“Just call me Hwi.”

Lirael started to float on top of me and chant something I didn’t understand. Whatever she chanted was definitely not in English, but the way she did it made it seem like she was praying.

Silver light shone from the altar, and the Moonlight shining above me glowed brighter. A calm feeling washed all over my body, like my whole body was being thoroughly cleansed from the tip of my head to the tip of my toes. The cuts all over my body closed, and the hole in my left shoulder stopped seeping out pus and started to close. The moment the Moonlight’s and the altar’s silvery glow dimmed, my body had fully recovered. Even my Mana was now at full capacity.

Getting off of the altar, I checked my condition.

‘Hmm… I’m really fully recovered. Not only that, I feel like even the coating in my heart and blood vessels also got stronger. Many of the blood vessels I haven’t coated yet have also been coated now.’

I tried to circulate my Mana, and the circulation certainly got smoother and faster than before.

‘This is nuts. I really skipped months of training in the coating process just like that.’

“How is it?”

“The best. I might even start praying to Lady Arianrhod.”

“It’s great to have more worshippers, but we have a more pressing matter right now.”

“What?”

“He’s here.”

The moment Lirael said that, several black tendrils shot out of nowhere at us.

“Barrier!”

Three transparent barriers quickly appeared and successfully blocked the tendrils. After the surprise attack failed, the tendrils were pulled back inside an unnatural shadow formed on the floor of the cave. Then, a figure could be seen coming out from that shadow. It was the figure of a tall and lanky man wearing black robes and a black cape, holding a staff with several bells tied to it.

Ring.

“I finally found you, you little shit!”

The Dark Mage had found us.