Chapter 45: Being Dead Is Lonely

Finn stared at the crying Deon.

'Why is he crying? So weird… and how did he defeat the soldier ant?' Finn scratched the arch of his brow, utterly confused at the events that took place a few meters before him.

'First, there was the unmistakable crimson aura.'

'But from what I saw, Sir Deon was truly weak. He couldn't possibly be a Crimson Knight.'

'Although, I definitely felt chills just looking at that aura… like I was afraid…'

'But in my mind, I knew he wasn't strong.'

'It was an irrational fear…'

'And his fighting style, although unpolished and oozing with desperation, was truly unique.'

'I wonder how he does that 'teleportation' thing?'

'Also, I'm certain that I saw my dagger floating and whizzing around the battlefield like it had a mind of its own.'

'Is he perhaps involved in occultism?'

His icy blue eyes bore a hole into Deon's head as if to gouge out this strange knight's secrets.

Deon was such a mysterious creature to Finn. And with Finn's personality, the more he did not understand something, the more he became obsessed with it.

To him, Deon was like a puzzle waiting to be solved.

Finn's blood boiled with excitement, 'Aaaah… how fascinating you are, Sir Deon.'

Unable to hold back his curiosity, Finn directly asked, "SIR DEON! ARE YOU INVOLVED IN OCCULTISM?"

When Deon visibly stiffened, Finn already got his answer.

On the other hand, Mikael briefly entered the Medium. He wanted to discuss the situation with Deon now that it has come to this.

But even when they used Direct Messaging, Mikael and Deon talked in hushed tones.

"Hey, Kid! This is your fault! Who told you to cry in the middle of nowhere?! Now, Finn's grown suspicious."

"I'm sorry, Sir Mikael… I was just too touched by what you told me. By the way, can I call you 'Hyung*'?"

"Wha--? Yuck! No! that's so cringey!" goosebumps erupted from Mikael's ghost skin.

"Anyway, what do we do? Is this the moment that I reveal myself?" Mikael asked Deon to change the topic.

Deon pondered for quite a while.

"It's too dangerous, Sir Mikael."

"Dangerous? Why?"

Mikael did not understand why revealing himself was dangerous since all the people in George's village knew of his existence.

"You don't know the church here, Sir. They abhor anything that goes against the natural order. They hate anything they deem evil much more than they do Almagi—and they DESPISE the Almagi. If you reveal yourself, paladins will march to the royal palace to catch us! they'll burn us at stake!"

Mikael finally understood Deon's rationale.

However, he was not happy about it.

He really wanted to become friends with Finn.

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Deep inside, Mikael wanted people to know he exists.

He desired validation of his existence. That's why he always introduced himself to the people who visited his haunted orphanage.

Because being dead is lonely.

But he also knew that he could not risk Deon's safety for his selfish desire.

Although saddened, Mikael agreed with his partner's decision.

Deon walked toward Finn.

"What are you saying, Sir Finn? How could I? HAHAHA!" he heartily laughed, trying to mask the awkwardness in his voice.

Finn stared at him for a full minute.

'Sir Deon is such a terrible liar…' He judged, 'Oh well if he wants to keep it a secret, I won't pry.'

In the eastern Yeshand continent where wars prevailed for over a thousand years, lots of people turned to occultism to grant their wishes. Some wished for power while others wished for riches—because only when one is rich and powerful will one be safe from the effects of war.

As they say, peace is only for the privileged.

However, there was no proof that these practices were legitimate nor effective.

It was only a hundred years ago that peace returned to the turbulent Yeshand continent—at the advent of Kariyah religious order.

The Church unified people under the goddess, Kariyah, who they claimed to have gifted humanity with mana, also called the 'Life particles.'

They preached that the benevolent goddess carved out her heart to replace the core of the land and this 'immortal heart' continuously pumps out mana that the roots of the Magusteen trees absorb and release onto the atmosphere.

They said the goddess once descended from the heavens to deliver her will—That is to 'Maintain peace in the blessed land of Phantas.'

However, years passed and the power of the church grew to a terrifying degree and the goddess' will was reinterpreted into 'Eliminate anything that threatens peace'. Since then, occult practices were condemned, and any occultists caught were burned at stakes, their ashes scattered to fertilize Magusteen forests to 'return to the goddess' embrace' and 'Purify their souls.'

Considering this, Finn perfectly understood why Sir Deon would want to hide his companion.

"Ahahaha! I agree, Sir Deon. There's no way that practice works anyway." Finn feigned ignorance.

"Yes. it's just one of my…" Deon struggled to come up with a reasonable excuse, "Special abilities. Ahaha…"

Finn narrowed his eyes, looking at Deon like he was a very interesting lab rat, and sighed.

To clear the awkward air, Finn moved to inspect the baggage that the Killer ant brought with it.

"Hmmm…" Finn placed his forefinger below the woman's nose, 'She's still breathing…'

His icy blue eyes searched the woman's body for any injury.

The poor woman was riddled with bruises and gashes. Her right hand up to her elbows had been sliced off.

'She probably shielded her head with that arm out of instinct only to have it bitten off by the monster'

'Where did she come from? Is it possible that there are still other living humans somewhere in this colony?'

Finn's eyes followed the bloody trail --Like a gruesome version of Hansel and Gretel's bread crumbs—leading to the colony's food storage.

--Chapter end--

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* Hyung is a word used by Korean males to address another male older than them who they are close to.. Hyung literally means "older brother".

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