“Margaret……” Enoch muttered as he rubbed his face, then added, “Maybe Margaret has returned to the cave we were in.” There was a mixture of despair and hope in his low voice.
However, at the idea that Margaret might return, Kayden and Ruzef were a little skeptical. Margaret’s last expression they remembered was full of betrayal.
“Well, I think it wouldn’t be such a bad idea to go to the cave again. How about we start moving now?” asked Ruzef.
Enoch nodded while Kayden just stared down blankly.
Again, an uncomfortable silence fell between them.
After a few moments, Enoch cursed as he threw a piece of cloth he was holding.
It was a piece of Margaret’s dress believed to have been in her crossbody bag, so they followed this trail all the way here from the cave.
“Damn it! Isn’t this all because of that useless plan?”
Kayden jumped to his feet at Enoch swearing like he had lost his mind.
“Are you blaming me now? Have you forgotten you also agreed to it, Your Highness?”
At Kayden’s words, Enoch annoyedly unbuttoned the sleeves of his shirt and folded them up. Then, he swung his fist and glared at Kayden as if he wanted to fight.
“Do I look like I’m blaming you? Like you said, Lord, I also agreed to the plan, and I don’t mean to blame anyone, but why do you look like your conscience is stabbed?”
Enoch gritted his teeth, suppressing the seething emotions from within. He looked very impatient and anxious, unlike his usual self.
“Fxck, what did you say just now……!”
They both grabbed each other’s collars and started fighting. The punches came and went before they eventually rolled onto the ground, still fighting.
Ruzef frowned as if he were looking at uncivilized beasts and stepped away.
Then Diego stepped in. He approached Enoch and Kayden at a single step, separated them from each other, and then nodded to Ruzef.
He said, “Help me, Archbishop.”
As if brought to his senses by Diego’s words, Enoch stopped trying to swing his fist and sighed in annoyance.
The problem was Kayden. Ruzef took notice and caught Kayden who was running amok.
Blood flowed from the head past his red, bloodshot eyes. Kayden with a scary face continued to struggle and was eventually tied to a tree.
“Let go of me!!”
Enoch, who roughly wiped the blood off his face with the back of his hand while adjusting his clothes, looked at Kayden with a tired face.
“Are you okay, Your Highness?” asked Diego worriedly. To be precise, he was worried that Enoch would go out of control at the sight of blood.
Enoch sighed with a tired face and replied, “I am. My condition is now under control.”
At his words, both Diego and Ruzef looked surprised. They seemed to be wondering how he could possibly control it, but Enoch didn’t bother to explain further.
Ruzef looked around and muttered, “We still haven’t found Lady Floné.”
Enoch scratched his head with an uneasy look. There was deep despair on his face. He opened his mouth to say something, but in the end, closed it again without saying a word.
He didn’t know how far Margaret had misinterpreted their words, but how scared she must have been to be alone. How hard it must have been.
Just thinking about it made him sick as if he had a rock stuck in his chest. So stuffy that it’s difficult to breathe.
“Give up. You can’t find her.”
Then, someone broke the quiet. To be precise, it was a boy’s voice coming from somewhere.
The three turned toward the voice. Then Kayden, who was tied to a tree in despair, turned his gaze up the tree with a stern face.
“What are you doing? Don’t hide in such a place and get down, you bastard!”
“Sorry, I can’t do that.”
Enoch, Ruzef, and Diego turned their heads up the tree, following Kayden’s gaze.
Sitting atop a thick branch is a boy wearing the same robe as Kayden’s. Even his silver hair and red eyes resemble Kayden’s. Swinging his legs, he said leisurely, “I can’t do anything here.”
“Then get down.”
The boy didn’t respond despite Kayden’s urging.
While Ruzef and Diego were puzzled by that expressionless boy’s sudden appearance, Enoch noticed that the boy is Jenas Igran Rohade whom Kayden and Margaret had talked about the other day.
“Hello.”
The boy greeted Enoch, Ruzef, and Diego. Without long, Diego drew his sword at the boy.
“Who are you?” asked Ruzef.
Without taking his eyes off the boy, Kayden answered, “I told you last night, there’s a wizard who has lived on this island for a thousand years.”
Ruzef looked up at the boy with a surprised face, recalling the conversation he had when Margaret was lying unconscious after being poisoned by anaconda gas.
The boy waited for their conversation to end before finally opening his mouth with a shrug. “I came here out of curiosity.”
Then, very slowly and leisurely, he scanned the four of them.
As if pouring oil on the fire, his words made Kayden angrier.
“You came here out of curiosity? You bastard! You’ve been watching all this time, haven’t you? Get down before I twist your neck, you brat!”
“I don’t want to.”
The boy shrugged and replied calmly. Then he looked down at the four and continued, “I am here to tell you all something interesting……”
He paused again, like a slow-moving turtle, then tilted his head and looked at them again. Just as God looks down on humans.
“……would you listen?”
Enoch with his arms crossed and raised eyebrows looked at the boy and asked, “Something interesting?”
The boy nodded. “Yeah. It would be great fun,” he answered. Then he stared at the sky for a moment, looked down at them again, and added, “It’s about our Margaret.”
Ruzef was puzzled by the boy’s words. What does he mean by ‘our’? The boy’s possessive desire for Margaret, which was revealed at first glance, was unusual.
“The Margaret you know is not Margaret.”
Everyone hardened at the shocking remarks that followed. The boy smiled as if he had expected that kind of reaction.
“There’s another soul in Margaret Rose Floné.”
A bright smile like a flower appeared on the boy’s face, which had not shown any expression until now.
***
I don’t know how much time has passed. It’s dark underground, so it’s even more difficult to check the time.
As if noticing my agitation, Eunji next to me slithered up into my arm.
I picked him up, put him on my shoulder, and looked around calmly again.
There seems nothing special in this underground tomb to find out more.
Maybe that’s why these skeletons brought me here.
They want me to know their deaths.
After praying for the skeletons with a complex face, I scanned the walls meticulously. Because there was a place where light leaked out.
When I touched the wall and checked the gap, I could find a place where the wind was blowing. It was clearly the outer wall.
‘The problem is that I have to break down the wall.’
It’s difficult to use a flare gun. Then, if the ceiling collapsed along with it, I would be buried in the ground as well.
‘What should I do?’
While I was thinking for quite some time…
-clatter, clatter, clatter.
I could hear skeletons moving behind me. I froze, unable to look back because it was terrifying.
The sounds were getting closer, it seemed that the skeletons were moving here. Before long, they passed me and slammed their bodies against the wall.
“W-what!?”
I stared blankly at the disintegrating skeletons on the floor.
The other skeletons that followed behind also slammed their bodies against the wall one after another.
In an instant, dozens of skeletons dashed and smashed themselves against the wall, and along with the sound of shattering came the sound of rubble stone walls collapsing.
-clatter, clatter.
The skeletons sacrificed their bodies to the stone walls without rest. After repeating the action for a long time, a corner of the wall finally collapsed bit by bit
“Oh, my God.”
Light leaked through the hole in the wall. The hole opened up enough passage for me to duck down and through it.
As if the skeletons had done their job, they lost their strength and scattered on the floor.
“Thank you.”
I thanked the skeletons. I don’t know if they can hear me though.
Maybe they helped me not to be a victim like them?
I quietly left the dark underground through the hole.
As I exited, I saw a staircase lit by torches. The stairs are narrow enough for one person to pass through; both sides were blocked by stone walls.
I decided to take a look upstairs first.
I think this place might be a bunker. The bunker was the only place on Alea Island that could have such a space. The location must also be around here.
So I slowly climbed the narrow stairs that stretched out in a straight line and quickly reached the top floor.
To the left of the stairs is a hallway, and at the end of the hall is a door. I stopped at the stairs and looked down the hall, then up the stairs again. Looks like there’s still one more floor.
‘Should I go all the way up and then come down again?’
In the end, I chose not to open the door and went upstairs. I climbed the stairs hoping that there might be a way that led outside.
As expected, there’s a door at the end of the stairs that seems to lead to the outside. The problem is that it’s locked tight. And it doesn’t look like it can be opened from the inside.
Then, suddenly, Yuanna’s key came to mind. Is this really a door that can only be opened from the outside? This is probably the main door because I came through the side.
‘Then am I trapped?’
My heart was beating wildly. I was nervous and afraid, but I tried to calmly grasp the situation.
‘First of all, there is another door downstairs. Let’s have a look over there.’
I descended the stairs again and stood in front of the door downstairs that I had seen earlier. I’m not sure if there’s a room behind this door, but for some reason there probably is.
I grabbed the doorknob and turned it. Luckily the door wasn’t locked. Then I slowly opened it.
The room was dark, so I couldn’t see anything. That somehow made it even creepier. I took a deep breath without me realizing it.
‘I guess I should turn on the light.’
The moment I thought that, a light flashed in the room.
“Oh, that startled me!”
I clung to the door in a panic. The torches hanging all over the wall seem to have caught fire. If it’s your first time on this island, your heart will stop with shock.
“As expected, there is magic.”
It’s clear that this (presumed to be) bunker has powerful magic on it.
I looked around the room carefully.
As I read in the novel, the room is full of modern objects. I lost my words for a moment.
The room has a bed, a sofa, a desk, a hanger full of clothes, and a shelf full of food and daily necessities.
It was said that it was for one person, but it was a size that seemed able to live in without problems even if Enoch, Kayden, and Ruzef were brought along.
Who the hell made this room and why?
“Margaret……” Enoch muttered as he rubbed his face, then added, “Maybe Margaret has returned to the cave we were in.” There was a mixture of despair and hope in his low voice.
However, at the idea that Margaret might return, Kayden and Ruzef were a little skeptical. Margaret’s last expression they remembered was full of betrayal.
“Well, I think it wouldn’t be such a bad idea to go to the cave again. How about we start moving now?” asked Ruzef.
Enoch nodded while Kayden just stared down blankly.
Again, an uncomfortable silence fell between them.
After a few moments, Enoch cursed as he threw a piece of cloth he was holding.
It was a piece of Margaret’s dress believed to have been in her crossbody bag, so they followed this trail all the way here from the cave.
“Damn it! Isn’t this all because of that useless plan?”
Kayden jumped to his feet at Enoch swearing like he had lost his mind.
“Are you blaming me now? Have you forgotten you also agreed to it, Your Highness?”
At Kayden’s words, Enoch annoyedly unbuttoned the sleeves of his shirt and folded them up. Then, he swung his fist and glared at Kayden as if he wanted to fight.
“Do I look like I’m blaming you? Like you said, Lord, I also agreed to the plan, and I don’t mean to blame anyone, but why do you look like your conscience is stabbed?”
Enoch gritted his teeth, suppressing the seething emotions from within. He looked very impatient and anxious, unlike his usual self.
“Fxck, what did you say just now……!”
They both grabbed each other’s collars and started fighting. The punches came and went before they eventually rolled onto the ground, still fighting.
Ruzef frowned as if he were looking at uncivilized beasts and stepped away.
Then Diego stepped in. He approached Enoch and Kayden at a single step, separated them from each other, and then nodded to Ruzef.
He said, “Help me, Archbishop.”
As if brought to his senses by Diego’s words, Enoch stopped trying to swing his fist and sighed in annoyance.
The problem was Kayden. Ruzef took notice and caught Kayden who was running amok.
Blood flowed from the head past his red, bloodshot eyes. Kayden with a scary face continued to struggle and was eventually tied to a tree.
“Let go of me!!”
Enoch, who roughly wiped the blood off his face with the back of his hand while adjusting his clothes, looked at Kayden with a tired face.
“Are you okay, Your Highness?” asked Diego worriedly. To be precise, he was worried that Enoch would go out of control at the sight of blood.
Enoch sighed with a tired face and replied, “I am. My condition is now under control.”
At his words, both Diego and Ruzef looked surprised. They seemed to be wondering how he could possibly control it, but Enoch didn’t bother to explain further.
Ruzef looked around and muttered, “We still haven’t found Lady Floné.”
Enoch scratched his head with an uneasy look. There was deep despair on his face. He opened his mouth to say something, but in the end, closed it again without saying a word.
He didn’t know how far Margaret had misinterpreted their words, but how scared she must have been to be alone. How hard it must have been.
Just thinking about it made him sick as if he had a rock stuck in his chest. So stuffy that it’s difficult to breathe.
“Give up. You can’t find her.”
Then, someone broke the quiet. To be precise, it was a boy’s voice coming from somewhere.
The three turned toward the voice. Then Kayden, who was tied to a tree in despair, turned his gaze up the tree with a stern face.
“What are you doing? Don’t hide in such a place and get down, you bastard!”
“Sorry, I can’t do that.”
Enoch, Ruzef, and Diego turned their heads up the tree, following Kayden’s gaze.
Sitting atop a thick branch is a boy wearing the same robe as Kayden’s. Even his silver hair and red eyes resemble Kayden’s. Swinging his legs, he said leisurely, “I can’t do anything here.”
“Then get down.”
The boy didn’t respond despite Kayden’s urging.
While Ruzef and Diego were puzzled by that expressionless boy’s sudden appearance, Enoch noticed that the boy is Jenas Igran Rohade whom Kayden and Margaret had talked about the other day.
“Hello.”
The boy greeted Enoch, Ruzef, and Diego. Without long, Diego drew his sword at the boy.
“Who are you?” asked Ruzef.
Without taking his eyes off the boy, Kayden answered, “I told you last night, there’s a wizard who has lived on this island for a thousand years.”
Ruzef looked up at the boy with a surprised face, recalling the conversation he had when Margaret was lying unconscious after being poisoned by anaconda gas.
The boy waited for their conversation to end before finally opening his mouth with a shrug. “I came here out of curiosity.”
Then, very slowly and leisurely, he scanned the four of them.
As if pouring oil on the fire, his words made Kayden angrier.
“You came here out of curiosity? You bastard! You’ve been watching all this time, haven’t you? Get down before I twist your neck, you brat!”
“I don’t want to.”
The boy shrugged and replied calmly. Then he looked down at the four and continued, “I am here to tell you all something interesting……”
He paused again, like a slow-moving turtle, then tilted his head and looked at them again. Just as God looks down on humans.
“……would you listen?”
Enoch with his arms crossed and raised eyebrows looked at the boy and asked, “Something interesting?”
The boy nodded. “Yeah. It would be great fun,” he answered. Then he stared at the sky for a moment, looked down at them again, and added, “It’s about our Margaret.”
Ruzef was puzzled by the boy’s words. What does he mean by ‘our’? The boy’s possessive desire for Margaret, which was revealed at first glance, was unusual.
“The Margaret you know is not Margaret.”
Everyone hardened at the shocking remarks that followed. The boy smiled as if he had expected that kind of reaction.
“There’s another soul in Margaret Rose Floné.”
A bright smile like a flower appeared on the boy’s face, which had not shown any expression until now.
***
I don’t know how much time has passed. It’s dark underground, so it’s even more difficult to check the time.
As if noticing my agitation, Eunji next to me slithered up into my arm.
I picked him up, put him on my shoulder, and looked around calmly again.
There seems nothing special in this underground tomb to find out more.
Maybe that’s why these skeletons brought me here.
They want me to know their deaths.
After praying for the skeletons with a complex face, I scanned the walls meticulously. Because there was a place where light leaked out.
When I touched the wall and checked the gap, I could find a place where the wind was blowing. It was clearly the outer wall.
‘The problem is that I have to break down the wall.’
It’s difficult to use a flare gun. Then, if the ceiling collapsed along with it, I would be buried in the ground as well.
‘What should I do?’
While I was thinking for quite some time…
-clatter, clatter, clatter.
I could hear skeletons moving behind me. I froze, unable to look back because it was terrifying.
The sounds were getting closer, it seemed that the skeletons were moving here. Before long, they passed me and slammed their bodies against the wall.
“W-what!?”
I stared blankly at the disintegrating skeletons on the floor.
The other skeletons that followed behind also slammed their bodies against the wall one after another.
In an instant, dozens of skeletons dashed and smashed themselves against the wall, and along with the sound of shattering came the sound of rubble stone walls collapsing.
-clatter, clatter.
The skeletons sacrificed their bodies to the stone walls without rest. After repeating the action for a long time, a corner of the wall finally collapsed bit by bit
“Oh, my God.”
Light leaked through the hole in the wall. The hole opened up enough passage for me to duck down and through it.
As if the skeletons had done their job, they lost their strength and scattered on the floor.
“Thank you.”
I thanked the skeletons. I don’t know if they can hear me though.
Maybe they helped me not to be a victim like them?
I quietly left the dark underground through the hole.
As I exited, I saw a staircase lit by torches. The stairs are narrow enough for one person to pass through; both sides were blocked by stone walls.
I decided to take a look upstairs first.
I think this place might be a bunker. The bunker was the only place on Alea Island that could have such a space. The location must also be around here.
So I slowly climbed the narrow stairs that stretched out in a straight line and quickly reached the top floor.
To the left of the stairs is a hallway, and at the end of the hall is a door. I stopped at the stairs and looked down the hall, then up the stairs again. Looks like there’s still one more floor.
‘Should I go all the way up and then come down again?’
In the end, I chose not to open the door and went upstairs. I climbed the stairs hoping that there might be a way that led outside.
As expected, there’s a door at the end of the stairs that seems to lead to the outside. The problem is that it’s locked tight. And it doesn’t look like it can be opened from the inside.
Then, suddenly, Yuanna’s key came to mind. Is this really a door that can only be opened from the outside? This is probably the main door because I came through the side.
‘Then am I trapped?’
My heart was beating wildly. I was nervous and afraid, but I tried to calmly grasp the situation.
‘First of all, there is another door downstairs. Let’s have a look over there.’
I descended the stairs again and stood in front of the door downstairs that I had seen earlier. I’m not sure if there’s a room behind this door, but for some reason there probably is.
I grabbed the doorknob and turned it. Luckily the door wasn’t locked. Then I slowly opened it.
The room was dark, so I couldn’t see anything. That somehow made it even creepier. I took a deep breath without me realizing it.
‘I guess I should turn on the light.’
The moment I thought that, a light flashed in the room.
“Oh, that startled me!”
I clung to the door in a panic. The torches hanging all over the wall seem to have caught fire. If it’s your first time on this island, your heart will stop with shock.
“As expected, there is magic.”
It’s clear that this (presumed to be) bunker has powerful magic on it.
I looked around the room carefully.
As I read in the novel, the room is full of modern objects. I lost my words for a moment.
The room has a bed, a sofa, a desk, a hanger full of clothes, and a shelf full of food and daily necessities.
It was said that it was for one person, but it was a size that seemed able to live in without problems even if Enoch, Kayden, and Ruzef were brought along.
Who the hell made this room and why?
