LTTH C49

Chapter 49

***

Brilliant sunlight streamed through the gaps in the window.

It was then that the eyelids of the one lying as if lifeless began to stir.

Hansol rubbed at his heavy lids several times, blinking until his vision cleared. Had his sight deteriorated in the interim? Strangely, it was harder than expected to bring the room into focus.

“Hansol, you’re awake?”

“…Kassie.”

“Sooner than I thought. Are you sure you don’t need more rest?”

Perhaps it was the sunlight, perhaps the haze of his vision, but Kassie—smiling brightly, as though a man stepped out of a painting—flicked the book in his hand carelessly into the air.

Was it truly proper for a high-level mage to seem so leisurely? The thought rose in Hansol’s mind, tinged with irritation, yet escaped no further. For what startled him more was the sight of white teeth snapping the book out of the air and devouring it.

“More importantly, aren’t you hungry? Let’s eat something.”

Hansol searched his memory and realized he could scarcely recall the last proper meal he had eaten. Yet before that, another matter pressed more heavily.

“…How long was I asleep?”

Suppressing the emptiness in his stomach, Hansol turned his gaze to the window. The brightness of the light suggested many hours had passed while he slept. Surely the Dark Zone had not spread in that time?

No—it could not have. Were there a Dark Zone, Kassie would not be so unhurried. The mage’s relaxed demeanor was proof enough the village remained safe.

Clinging to that reasonable conclusion, Hansol rose, a little more at ease.

“There are still many infected left. I should begin the purifications first.”

Nine hundred. Could he truly manage it?

The thought weighed heavily, yet he forced himself into motion. But as Hansol struggled to rise, Kassie’s expression gradually hardened, and when he spoke, his tone—cutting between them—carried a chill Hansol could not dismiss as his imagination.

“Hansol. That’s enough.”

“…What?”

What did he mean?

Hansol froze at the blunt words, blinking in disbelief. Was Kassie telling him to give up now? His heart quaked with unease. These were people who had lived together for over eighteen years. Kassie could not mean to abandon them.

Hansol’s black eyes wavered, fixing on Kassie’s face, and doubt flickered within them.

“What are you saying?”

“I mean exactly what I said. You can stop now.”

“And I’m asking what in the world that means.”

His voice grew sharp, heavy with anger. Perhaps it was true—he was angry. Even he could hear it in his tone. Yet Kassie’s expression remained unchanged.

“…Ha.”

Hansol let out a dry laugh, his features crumpling. Had he misjudged this man so badly?

“Step aside. I’m going.”

“Hansol.”

“Kassie, I never thought you were this way. I’m disappointed—truly.”

“What are you talking about?”

“How can you tell me to abandon the people?”

“…What?”

Kassie stared at him with a look of blank incomprehension, and Hansol felt his disbelief deepen. How could anyone say such a thing? These were people who had shared far more years with Kassie than with him, who must know far more.

You have purified a Sacrifice of Berthel.

“To tell me, at such a desperate time, to… Hm?”

‘…What is this now?’

“Hansol, I think you’ve misunderstood. Did you think I was telling you to abandon the survivors? To let them die?”

“…?”

‘…Wasn’t that what he meant?’

Hansol could not answer. But yes—that was exactly how it had sounded. How could it not? The nuance in Kassie’s words had suggested it plainly.

“Of course not. How could I ever say such a thing?”

Kassie laughed lightly, as if to say, How little you must think of me.

“Why would you take me for such a heartless monster? Hm?”

“No, it’s just—the way you phrased it, anyone would think…”

Hansol could not finish, for at that moment, another translucent window appeared before his eyes.

You have purified a Sacrifice of Berthel.

“……!”

The familiar words, the familiar blue pane.

It was as though the system itself had interceded to stop their quarrel. Hansol tilted his head. He had not cast purification just now. Since waking, all he had done was glare at Kassie.

You have purified a Sacrifice of Berthel.

And again, the same message. Which meant it was not his doing. Was it a glitch? Had the system gone mad? Or had his purification skill somehow leveled up without his knowledge?

Suspicion crowded his mind as he hastily opened the skill window—but nothing had changed. Still as unhelpful as ever.

‘Then what…?’

“Hansol, before we eat, won’t you step outside with me?”

“…Why outside, all of a sudden?”

“To see the great achievement you’ve just accomplished.”

“…What?”

What kind of nonsense was this?

“Come on, quickly.”

“W-wait!”

Before Hansol could even grasp what Kassie meant, the mage seized his arm and pulled him toward the door. To be clear, their builds were not so different—yet Kassie’s strength was overwhelming.

‘Does he eat protein shakes three times a day, or what?’

Or perhaps these mages were not pouring points into mana at all, but into brute strength. A ridiculous thought, yet remembering his first meeting with the Tower Lord, it seemed oddly plausible. His wrist had hurt for days after that grip.

“Look, Hansol.”

Pulled along by Kassie, Hansol turned his head where the mage gestured.

The village lay spread before him, its familiar wooden houses clustered together. The very house where Hansol had slept had been one of them.

But what stood before his eyes now was nothing like the sight he remembered before losing consciousness.

“This is…”

The wooden beams, once brown with age, now gleamed as white marble. Atop the structure hovered a luminous white sphere, radiating such solemn light that Hansol could only stare, struck speechless, a shiver crawling over his skin.

It was not of this world. As though, at any moment, a high priest in vestments might emerge from its doors.

“…What is this?”

“The great achievement I mentioned earlier.”

When had Hansol become a master builder of such grand architecture? His brows drew together, irritation mounting at Kassie’s teasing tone.

“You remember the sanctuary you cast here, don’t you? It feels similar. The effect, too.”

“You mean the Sanctuary Proclamation?”

You are currently within a Small Sanctuary.

Would you like to proclaim the Sanctuary?

‘…What?’

So that was the message he had glimpsed before collapsing—the Small Sanctuary.

Ironically, the unwelcome system prompt revealed the truth: this strange phenomenon was his doing.

A glance at Kassie showed excitement, but not the frenzy of Korean hunters. Small comfort, perhaps.

Hansol sighed inwardly and scrolled through his skill window. He had to find the cause—only then could he explain it, or excuse it.

Yet among the list of skills, nowhere was there one named “Small Sanctuary.”

Which meant—this was not a skill at all.