Chapter 136 (1/2)

Chapter 136. Goodbye, Ghost Saintess! (2)

How much time went by?

After agonizing for close to 10 minutes, Seol Jihu was just barely able to escape the Ghost Saintess's grasp. To be honest, it was more correct to say that the Ghost Saintess had let him go.

“Ow, ow, ow….”

Sitting on the ground and ma.s.saging his temples, Seol Jihu glanced to the side. The black smoke was sticking to the wall.

She was sulking again.

'Puhuhuhu.'

Seol Jihu giggled.

'I'm so happy.'

Should he say refres.h.i.+ng or invigorating? He never imagined things would go like this when he had found the tomb with Samuel's team.

Thinking about it now, how long had it been since he let loose and played around like this?

Looking back at the past few months, he had been quite busy, from the rescue mission, the training, partic.i.p.ating in the Banquet, etc.

He felt his emotions wear down as he busily experienced all these matters, but now that he put his worries away and fooled around with the Ghost Saintess, he felt a whole lot better. Almost like the time when he was discharged from the army, he felt full of life and ready to try anything.

'So this is why people advise others to go on healing trips.'

Seol Jihu flipped over. Lying on his stomach, he cupped his chin and stared at the black smoke pouting angrily.

“Miss Saintess.”

[What?]

She seemed to know what he did wasn't on purpose as she responded with an angry voice.

“Can you show me your face?”

[My face? Why?]

“I want to see it.”

He didn't have a hobby of looking at corpses. It was just that he was a bit curious.

'When was it again?'

He'd caught a glimpse of the Ghost Saintess' back in the past. He remembered it looking too clean to be a dead person's body.

There was that cold air coming out of the coffin as well.

He guessed that there had to be a reason. Otherwise, it simply didn't make sense for a centuries-old corpse to have been preserved spotlessly.

[…No.]

However, the Ghost Saintess' answer was 'No'.

“Why not?”

[Unless it is absolutely necessary, I don't like seeing myself, and I don't like showing myself either.]

Seol Jihu flinched hearing her clear refusal. As if she suddenly grew cold and serious, he felt terrifying malice flooding toward him like hail.

He wondered if he shouldn't have asked.

“I'm sorry.”

[No. It's not your fault.]

When the youth became depressed, the spirit quickly flew toward him.

[I'm not angry with you…. It's just that one of the reasons I'm trapped in this forest is because of my body.]

This was something unexpected.

“I thought that a barrier was placed around the Forest of Denial.”

[It is. But the medium of that is the spell engraved on my body.]

Seol Jihu tilted his head.

[It's easy if you picture a shackle. I'm dead, but my soul is forcefully tied to my body, and my body is tied to the forest.]

“That's possible?”

[It must be. Otherwise, I wouldn't be like this. You see, my real body from when I was alive has already rotted away. I'm just reconstructing it when I want to, using the vital energy of the forest.]

In other words, the body in the coffin wasn't a corpse, but a mysterious lump of energy formed with condensed resentment, just like the black smoke.

“Why… why did they go so far?”

[I don't know. I think they just thought of all possibilities.]

[Those G.o.dd.a.m.ned sons of b.i.t.c.hes were afraid of me that much. I bet they did all they could to stop my corpse from being taken out of the forest.]

“Something like that happened?”

[Just once. My mother did it. She must have wanted to save me no matter what. But…]

Her voice trembled as she paused.

Seol Jihu didn't fully understand what she meant, but this so-called sage who had established the barrier must have strengthened it by installing two or three layers.

The Ghost Saintess didn't say anything. She simply drew a circle in the air and floated around in low spirits.

Seol Jihu's eyes followed the wriggling spirit until he caught sight of a fancy coffin.

'A medium….'

Organizing the information regarding the matter, the corpse inside the coffin acted as an intermediary link. In other words, releasing the seal on the body would not only lift the barrier, but it would also allow this pitiful woman's soul to become free.

Hesitation brushed past Seol Jihu's face.

His expression as he intently stared at the coffin turned complicated and subtle.

'I think it's possible, but….'

It wasn't as if he didn't have greed.

To Seol Jihu, the Ghost Saintess was the Giving Tree. He could visit her and relax, just like today, and she sometimes gave him amazing gifts as well.

'No.'

I can't. I shouldn't.

Seol Jihu realized how selfish it was to hope this comfort would last forever.

The Ghost Saintess had been buried alive at the flowering age of her maidenhood. Seol Jihu couldn't even begin to fathom how she must have felt during the hundreds of years she had to endure loneliness and injustice.

It would have been one thing if he couldn't do anything about it. No matter how regrettable it might be, now that he had a method, he couldn't just ignore it.

Seol Jihu took in a short breath, then asked.

“What's your name, Miss Saintess?”

[Me? Flonecia Lusignan La Rothschear]

“Flonecia… what?”

When Seol Jihu was taken aback by the unexpected long name, the Ghost Saintess giggled.

[Flone. You can call me Flone.]

“Flone…. That's a cute name.”

[Hee.]

She was emitting a murderous intent just a minute ago, but now she was smiling at a single comment.

“Flone….”

Seol Jihu pursed his lips as if he wanted to enjoy this moment a bit longer.

But if there were meetings in life, there were also farewells.

It was better for goodbyes to be short.

Seol Jihu got straight to the point.

“Flone, don't you want to get out of here?”

[I do.]

She answered without a moment of hesitation.

Seol Jihu smiled openly.

“Okay.”

[Hm?]

“I'll help you.”

[…That's impossible.]

Flone must have realized his intentions as she spoke with a dejected voice.

[I have tried thousands, no, tens of thousands of times. But no matter how much of a mess I made, the barrier didn't disappear.]

Hearing her depressed voice, Seol Jihu shoved his hand into his pocket.

“You never know until you try all options.”

“I should be able to make it disappear.”

Seol Jihu spoke as he took out a bead s.h.i.+ning in purple light.

[What's that? It's pretty.]

“It's an artifact that's perfect for canceling barriers and spells.”

Seol Jihu articulated clearly.

This bead was the item he had traded with Competence. According to the man who previously possessed it, he had once discovered an ancient, secret. Apparently, he couldn't even think about entering it because of the sheer scale of the barrier and traps protecting the place.

Although he escaped because he feared for his life, he said that he was always curious about what was inside it.

The problem was that he had obtained this bead when he sold the information about the ruin a few days before entering the Banquet.

When Seol Jihu heard about this, he immediately agreed to the trade.

Although the purple bead had a limited number of uses, it had the ability to dismantle spells and traps in a wide-area.

Of course, he had no way to guarantee that this would work. However…

“Trust me.”

Seol Jihu laughed bashfully.

“It's an artifact containing the power of the Seven G.o.ds. I don't know how great that Sage guy is, but he's only human.”

Right. No matter how skilled this Sage was, he was only human.

It wouldn't make sense for him to be able to combat the power of G.o.ds.

Although Flone knew what Seol Jihu was saying, she remained silent. She had tried to escape this place countless times and failed, and now she also lost count of the number of times she despaired as a result.

As such, she couldn't speak easily. She knew she wouldn't be disappointed if she didn't hold any expectations. She had gotten too tired of being hurt.

But seeing Flone hesitate, Seol Jihu quickly struck up a conversation.

“Mm… I'll tell you this now. Thank you for helping me out in various ways. I'm truly grateful. Rest peacefully now, Flone.”

Flone didn't say anything.

Seol Jihu smacked his lips.

Like the saying, 'seeing is believing', showing her once seemed better than telling her about it a hundred times.

Well, he would have to say goodbye the moment he did though.

Seol Jihu's slow steps stopped in front of the coffin. Then, he slowly placed the purple bead against it.

[You don't really have to….]

A depressed voice rang out.

[It will be a waste. You should use that valuable artifact on something more worthwhile.]

Flone tried to stop him, but Seol Jihu shook his head.

“There's nothing more worthwhile than this.”

Then, he calmly continued.

“Even if this fails… I'll bring something else.”

[U-Un?]