Chapter 99

Chapter 99

"I'm starting."

Since it was my third [vengeful ghost contract], I felt used to the process.

I don't know whether or not it was just my imagination, but I felt like I was moving faster than when I summoned Jung Garam. I didn't stand there, dazed with the essence of the soul in my hands, but I took the dagger out of the inventory and posed in the middle of the magic circle.

Honestly though, why did this vengeance contract need a Necromancer's blood every time? Of course, the class concept itself is quite grim, but I wondered why exactly it needed the blood of the living for the dead.

I kept thinking about it as I placed the cold blade on my palm. If it's going to be like this, why isn't the class named, 'Blood Donation Master' instead of Necromancer?... "Should I draw my blood in advance next time...."

"Does it hurt that much?"

"No, it's just...It's not that it hurts, it's just a hassle..."

However, when Seo Dawon seemed to have misunderstood while listening to my murmurs, I wondered if I was making a mountain out of a hill.

I didn't mean to save face in front of him. It's just...I've been feeling for a while now that I wasn't someone that instilled the slightest bit of faith in my contractees.

Of course, partially it's because I'm too low level, but I was honestly shocked when Jung Garam said 'I think I'm going to develop a mental illness because of you.' How weak must I have seemed to him; I felt flushed when thinking about how Jung Garam, someone younger, viewed me.

So, I thought I shouldn't be seen whining in front of my servants anymore. I tried to maintain a brave facade and quickly gripped the dagger with more strength, fearing that I might seem hesitant or frail.

To finish it in one go, I pointed the point of the dagger straight down and plunged it into the palm of my hand...When I put my heart and determination behind my strength, blood welled out of the deep cut. The issue, however, was that it hurt enough for me to whimper. (Of course, I didn't make that sound because I was still putting on a strong performance).

I was acting pretty well, I thought; I looked at the blood that began to accumulate in my palm without biting my lips once, pretending to be calm.

Then, I dropped Kim Olim's vengeful ghost essence to the floor; as soon as it hit the ground, the essence cracked slowly before fragmenting into several pieces.

I dripped my blood onto those fragments. The wound was pretty large, but the blood did not well to the surface much after the first gush, so I was drenched in cold sweat as I squeezed some out.

You have fulfilled the conditions for summoning a Vengeful Ghost.

The message popped up after much difficulty; I tightly shut my eyes, thinking that I had finally overcome this crisis.

Replaying the memory of the deceased: 'Kim Olim.'

And when I opened my eyes again...

"Huh?"

Oddly enough, 'I' wasn't Kim Olim, this time.

Of course, it wasn't that there was no change. Instead of standing in the living room with Seo Dawon and Jung Garam, the scenery changed to the <Tower of Command>, where Kim Olim fought until her last breath.

However, unlike all the previous experiences, the memory wasn't reconfigured from Kim Olim's perspective, and I was left alone in the <Tower of Command>.

"D-did it go wrong?" I stood there for a long time before faltering and looking around. I was sure I entered Kim Olim's memory...

However, there was a clear difference between the sensation of possessing a memory fragment and what seemed to be happening now; eventually, instead of waiting for a memory that might never begin, I began to look around.

I was forced, though, to stop even that casual investigation before long.

"W-what's this..." It had only been about ten minutes since I started walking along the wall.

I couldn't climb higher than from where I was standing, so I went below and saw something white-I couldn't see clearly from above-at the bottom of the incline.

Moving closer, several skeletons lay scattered about. At first, it looked like dozens of skeleton sets, but, at a closer look, I could pick out five skulls. Everything else seemed to have been shattered into many pieces, thrown haphazardly here and there.

And, at the center of the wreckage, the only intact skeleton lay leaning against a giant shield. From my point of view, I could only see the skull's back, but I noticed the large shield half-buried in the reddened sand. Recalling Seo Dawon's memory, I realized that the shield must have belonged to Kim Olim.

'So then, the skeleton laying against that shield must be Kim Olim?' I hesitated before slowly approaching. At a certain distance, a woman's low voice began to resonate in my ears.

[When I came to my senses, it was all over.]

I knew this voice from the memories.

I stopped at the sudden voice, but strangely-after a while-I couldn't hear it anymore. I took a few more steps, certain that whatever had happened had passed, but I started to hear Kim Olim's voice again.

[I was alive for a while longer, but I knew that I wouldn't last long. Actually, I didn't have much to live for...not after I realized everyone had died.]

"......" I became slightly emotional when I heard Kim Olim's calm voice.

She was...According to Seo Dawon's memory, she was attached to and cared for the members of the [Red Lotus] a lot. She started becoming a shieldbearer while complaining that there were only crazy people in the guild who didn't know how not to be reckless with their bodies.

She preferred safe routes so that no one was hurt, so she often quarreled with Seo Dawon about the direction of their adventure. But, she never wanted him to fail, so she often compromised with him. She began to focus on protecting Seo Dawon, the one who cared about his health the least on the team.

For someone like Olim, she must have felt great despair when she realized all the [Red Lotus] guild members were dead. Furthermore, she didn't die as neatly as the others and had to wake up from unconsciousness to witness the whole situation with her eyes.

That was not all.

[There was a guy who made vulgar jokes while stacking up our bodies like firewood. Red Dragon's Koo Kyungman....]

She even saw the enemy gloating his victory in front of the dead.

"...Koo Kyungman...has already paid the price." I rubbed my eyes and told her. I wondered if this news might comfort her a little.

However-perhaps she couldn't hear my voice-Kim Olim continued to gripe without any reaction to my presence.

[Lim Jisoo was drawing on Ragi's face with a knife. The assassin that used the red chain spat on Eunji's face...]

"......"

[However the most disgusting was Ryu Hyerin...I couldn't stand it the moment I saw her...]

Ryu Hyerin was the deputy guildmaster of the [Opera] guild and one of the targets of revenge. Although she did not actively engage in combat and harm the members of the [Red Lotus], she and her guild members restored the enemy's stamina and eventually made the [Red Lotus] members face an untiring enemy.

In a way, she may have seemed like the most passive of the opponents in our revenge process, but, in actuality, the ambush would not have been possible with the support of [Opera].

Wasn't it too shady how they united to prevent [Red Lotus]'s dominance? So, I wondered if Ryu Hyerin had done something, free of her facade.

Creeping close enough to touch Kim Olim's skull if I just reached out, I asked, "What did...Ryu Hyerin do?"

Kim Olim, who must have heard my question, slowly raised her skull as if she was only playing dead. Continuing, she looked back at me-the sight of her empty eye sockets made me retreat.

Within those eye sockets, dark red water incessantly flowed out, drawing two clear lines across the skull, past the cheekbones even in the absence of flesh.No matter how many times I looked, she seemed as if she were shedding tears of blood.

[She was crying.]

Like that, Kim Olim raised both hands to the ceiling, shaking.

[How dare she! She was weeping!]

TL: And so we meet Kim Olim! The shieldbearer/paladin of the Red Lotus Guild. I can imagine how painful it must have been especially for someone who's primary purpose is tanking to see the rest of the members dead all around her.

Below is a depiction of Kim Olim with her long black hair and giant shield.