Episode 431: The Lion King (2)

Episode 431: The Lion King (2)

Hwii-ing-

As the fishermen said, the sea breeze that had been blowing strong for a few days was carrying a strange heat, as if a volcano had erupted somewhere far out in the sea.

The stench that spreads through the heat makes the entire Don Quixote family castle built on the coastal cliff shiver.

A unique smell from dried fish.

This is the smell that comes from the process of drying the strangely large number of large fish caught due to the warmer water temperature.

The over-caught fish were dried here and there on the coast by fishermen, and the smell spread over a wide area on the sea breeze, even flooding Don Quixote's castle.

… … however.

The stench coming from the hallway now was of a completely different kind.

King of Window 'Don Quixote La Mancha Cervantes'.

Changhaechanga Don Quixote's family head and one of the seven warriors who support the empire.

The Great Emperor of the Sea (帊大帝) who ruled the blue sea with the strongest cavalry army, the Invincible Cavalry, and the strongest navy, the Armada.

And the father of 'Don Quixote La Mancha Tudor', one of the next-generation heroes who attracts the most attention among his peers.

As soon as Tudor opened the door, he was able to see his father, whom he had longed to see so much.

However, Tudor's first emotion upon seeing his father for the first time was not sadness or joy.

"… … ?"

question. It's nothing special.

It was a pure question that made me tilt my head, not knowing what I was seeing in front of me.

A bedroom with no lights on.

Something black was moving on the large, desolate bed.

Although it had a human shape, there was something unusual about it twitching and trembling slightly.

The moment Tudor takes a step forward without knowing what it is.

Pasasasasasak-

It sensed the presence of a person and began to make loud movements.

Countless black waves spread out in all directions around the bed.

"… … !"

Only then did Tudor discover the identity of those black things.

They were cockroaches, flies, ants, centipedes, and various small beetles.

Weeeeeeenn-

As the stench became stronger, unpleasant sounds of flapping wings rang out.

A stark scene was revealed above the bed, which was teeming with an enormous number of pests.

Cervantes, the king of spears.

A superman who made a hole in a mountain with one stab of a spear and split the sea to create a path with one swing of his spear.

The entity that owned the most extensive territory among the seven major families of the empire.

The king of Madoros who ruled the entire sea.

He was lying on the bed, with only his skull and dried skin remaining.

His body was infested with bugs, and his two bony arms, with nothing but bones left, were tightly grasping the long spear that penetrated his stomach.

The stench and bugs were coming from that very place.

dump-

Tudor collapsed on the spot.

"… … Ah, father."

A voice muttering in despair.

An attitude as if you can't believe what you're seeing right now.

silence. Terrible silence.

Even in a tomb, it couldn't be quieter than this.

No one dared to open their mouth in the face of the terrible situation before their eyes.

And no one dared speak to the fallen Tudor.

Best friend, best teacher, best father.

Tudor's eyes, who witnessed such a miserable existence, were shaking mercilessly like a sailboat caught in a storm.

at that time.

"wait for a sec."

Someone covered Tudor's eyes from behind.

Bianca. She opened her mouth in a very trembling voice as if to appeal to Tudor's ear.

"Let's stay like this for a moment. huh?"

Bianca desperately hugged Tudor. And he covered Tudor's eyes with his trembling hands.

After a long silence, Tudor opened his mouth like a collapsing dam spewing out water.

"… … father!"

Tudor was unable to speak for a long time after that.

Dolores, who was standing next to him, stepped forward.

She removed the bugs crawling on the bed with her bare hands.

When the bugs disappeared, Dolores covered Cervantes' bare face with her handkerchief.

"This is my body, which I will offer for you. Ite, missa est. Rest in peace. And go to a good place."

The Virgin's Mass. Her farewell speech was short but heartfelt.

As soon as Bianca released his hands, Tudor fell on Cervantes' mummy and held back his tears.

The sound of water filling a parched furrow.

Emotions of pain, sadness, hatred, and regret were swirling around.

"… … "You volunteered."

Everyone, including Dolores, was able to infer Cervantes' final fate.

Cervantes' cause of death was clear to anyone.

Before his body, weakened by poison and mind demons, was taken over by the devil, he held the spear upside down with his own will.

And with truly superhuman will and patience that ordinary people cannot even imagine, he thrust the spear deep into his abdomen, penetrating all the way under the bed.

The whirlpool of black soot left on the bed, walls, floor, and ceiling clearly showed how hard the devil worked to get into Cervantes' soul and take over his body.

Dolores radiated divine power and swept over Cervantes' body.

All strange residues, including miasma, were being purified.

"Even with his weakened spirit, he resisted the devil until the end."

"I know. I knew it. I expected it to some extent, but... … ."

Tudor answered in a voice like boiling lead.

It is natural that Cervantes had strong mental power.

Because he was the ruler of the sea and the ruler of the grasslands.

… … The question is what made his body, which was as strong as his soul, sick.

Dolores looked at the floor under the bed.

You can see the rotted corpses of insects.

They were dried and turned into powder, so they must have been the first to rush to Cervantes' body.

"… … I can feel the poison. "It also carries with it the spirit of a very terrible plague."

Dolores said as she touched the bugs' corpses.

The insects, which had long since rotted away, must have died after gnawing on Cervantes' body, which was contaminated with poison.

Cervantes' body also had a faint trace of venom.

Although time has passed and almost all of it has disappeared, we were able to figure out what kind of poison he suffered until he died.

It was something Dolores was familiar with.

'… … 'Red Death!'

I remember the first time I met Bikir in the past.

'There is a plague spreading through the slums.'

At that time, Dolores did not want to meet Bikir because she thought he was suspicious, but the matter that Bikir brought seemed so serious that they ended up talking.

It was then that I encountered the terrifying plague called the Red Death for the first time.

'The experience of dealing with the Red Death back then is of great help.'

Dolores knows this plague well because she has purified it herself.

The Red Death is an infectious disease caused by extreme poison created by Leviathan, a poisonous hermit.

Even the poison that poisoned Cervantes, the king of spears, appeared to be a much more improved version than at that time.

'It's become much more severe and demanding. Even King Chang couldn't have done anything.'

The miasma that has faded over time is enough to make me break into a cold sweat.

Dolores remembered well the poisonous feeling she felt from Cervantes.

Meanwhile. Tudor gritted his teeth.

"… … Leviathan, the extremely poisonous hermit!"

These are the names of the enemies who poisoned my father.

They are evil beasts that created the hateful poison and plague called the Red Death.

Soon, Tudor's eyes turned to the spear stuck in Cervantes' abdomen.

The spear 'Gungnir' symbolizes the head of the Don Quixote family.

Cervantes' spearmanship, which boasted the speed of a lightning strike and the heaviness of a tidal wave, could not be handled by an ordinary spear.

While all the spears created by famous masters with all their blood and sweat were broken, only this Gungnir was strong and solid enough to properly embody Cervantes' spear skills.

Although it is heavy, it has a high mana conductivity and does not leave any residual scratches no matter how strong the impact, so there is no need to sharpen the blade.

Tudor held Gungnir's spear, shedding bloody tears.

"I will definitely kill Passamonte to avenge my father. "Everyone involved in this incident will have to pay the price."

Then something surprising happened.

Tsutsutsu… …

Gungnir began to tremble slightly and was then slowly pulled out of Cervantes' body.

It was as if Cervantes was moving his hands on his own.

Tong-

Like a magnet finding its counterpart, Gungnir came into Tudor's grasp.

The moment Tudor held Gungnir, he almost fell forward due to its weight, but he quickly held on to it and held it tightly.

Even Cervantes held Gungnir with both hands, so it must have been quite heavy, but Tudor stood up without any hesitation.

And like a lie.

Tsutsutsutsutsu… … Slurp-

Cervantes' body, which had maintained its posture while being eaten by countless insects, began to crumble into powder.

His remains, which had turned to black and red ashes and collapsed, did not emit the same foul odor as before.

I can only feel the spicy scent of the cigarettes I used to smoke.

Right at that moment.

Clap- Clap- Clap- Clap-

In the corner where wall meets wall, in the dark corner, I saw someone standing up with the sound of applause.

… … !

The six people who walk at night, who had not felt the presence of anyone in the room until now, suddenly take their stance.

Soon, the face of an uninvited guest was revealed in the dim light.

A tall man with white face and a slim build.

"You were finally selected. Gungnir."

Don Quixote La Mancha Passamonte.

No, it was the appearance of 'Chimeries', the fourth sipsangsi.