Chapter 187 – Hyehun’s Lucid Dream (6)
【Is this fact well known among humans?】
Veronica asked. It must be a question of whether humans knew the original purpose of the Rune Stone.
I groaned at the unexpected question.
“How are you? I’ve never heard of it. But when I heard it, it was strange. You can just put the rune’s mana into the rune stone. Other people would have known if the conditions were met.”
【It could be. Aren’t rune magicians rare among the humans who have conquered most of the lands of the middle branch? The rune stones I own are also items that I managed to find in remote areas or abandoned ruins. Few people have figured it out.]
I know what the middle branch means. It’s an old-fashioned way of referring to the real world. Even Odin, who appeared in his dreams, said it. You can roughly think of it as an expression of ‘Earth’ in the other world version.
‘I was originally going to ask about dreams.’
I tasted it. It changed my mind.
‘The word prophecy bothers me.’
Prophecy of the bicorns. What kind of content is that
I can’t figure out the contents from my guess. However, Kang Buk-ho’s intuition, tempered by multimedia in the 21st century, felt that the prophecy was closely related to the curse on the bicorns.
“Veronica. Can I ask what the prophecy is later?”
【Let’s do that. I was thinking of letting you hear it from the beginning. I was pushed back because the ogre interfered.]
“Thanks. Still, if I had something to say, I should have told it to you before I went to bed yesterday.”
【Whoops. I probably couldn’t sleep. You seem to have a personality that feels burdened when you receive expectations.]
“Catch this.”
Veronica laughed, but I couldn’t help but giggle. Swallow. Do you want to ask for something?
Still, that guy has the personality to protect Eun-won like a knife, so he must have prepared for the price. It’s in my hands whether I’m asked or not. When I thought about it, the pressure eased a little.
I looked at the pocket watch. There are only 30 minutes left.
30 minutes. Time for small talk was running out. We randomly put rune stones in the bag. I put the old man’s rune stone in another bag and put it on.
“What about other loads?”
【Does not exist. I brought some human money, so I’ll buy it with my money at that time.]
“Sure.”
Didn’t you bring any luggage when you came to me? Since he originally lived in the forest, he seems to have high self-sufficiency skills. I put on my bag and went outside and got on Hildegard’s back.
Hildegard opened his eyes wide when he saw the bag we had brought.
【I brought a lot. Will you take all of them?]
“I think it will be needed for Haeju research.”
【Aha. That’s it. It seems that Veronica also agreed.]
【It’s the price of my life, of course.】
After Veronica said that, she transformed into a hummingbird and climbed onto my shoulder. Her shoulders, widened by her steelwork, had plenty of space for the little hummingbird to perch.
But I didn’t know that it would transform into another animal so suddenly.
“What. Can you transform other than a horse?”
【This is an application of the rune of ᛒ (Berkanan). Transformation magic fits well with my magic aptitude. However, there is not much meaning in transforming other than the body and horse form.]
“What would it be? But then why did you transform into a hummingbird?”
If it wasn’t for the bicon mode, Veronica’s self-dot-dem, her virginity, would be maintained. Because the design of the curse is that shape.
She is the one whose curse is only half lifted, so her godlike form is set to the base state from now on. If she transforms using mana, wouldn’t it be more efficient for her to transform into a horse?
When I asked, Veronica snapped at her neck like a real bird.
【Because I’m slow. If you’re in a hurry, it’s quicker to borrow Hildegard’s back. Please.]
【Any amount. It’s light, so it doesn’t look like something burnt.]
Hildegard, who scratched the floor with his hoof, ran to the magic circle. The speed was faster than going to the cave, probably because Hildegard knew that time was running out.
The magic circle that arrived like that was full of crowds, no, horses.
It seems that the bicorns who heard the explanation from Veronica gathered. I don’t know how horses feel, but I could read their expressions, probably because they’re bicorns close to humans.
Half hope, half doubt. Still, no one said anything without notice.
─Break it! Veronica said, transforming into her god form as if she were protesting.
【Goodbye for a moment. I’ll bring you better news next time.]
It was an assertion that sounded even arrogant. However, in other words, it was also an expression of intention not to return until the results were obtained.
The goodbye was over with that.
After receiving her seal from me, Veronica activated her magic circle. The bicorns looked at us solemnly with eyes seeing off compatriots who were leaving for asceticism.
What did Odin mean by ‘heir’ in his dream?
Do I really have a way to break their curse?
The savior of a fallen god. It felt like too much for me. As I was thinking about that, Veronica grabbed my hand and pulled me into the magic circle.
【My dear. The preparations are complete. Let’s go.]
“Ugh.”
I turned my back to the bicorns and stood in the magic circle. ─Paaaaa! The activated magic circle twisted space-time to return us to our original place.
That’s how we moved to the forest of Britannia. Is it because the sun is almost up? In the forest where traces of yesterday’s battle remained, the magic circle was almost disappearing.
【Whoops… ! Puha.]
Veronica stretched her body like her office worker finished her job. She didn’t tell me, but she seemed to have put a lot of effort into persuading her people.
“You worked hard. If it was difficult, did you transform into a bird when you returned home?”
【Whoops. It must be difficult because of the curse. What I’m slow on my feet, but I’m confident in my stamina. After all, I walked around this vast continent relying only on my own legs.]
-Snap. Veronica Banging Her Own Legs With Her Bareback. Veronica’s legs, literally her horse’s thighs, were so slender that they looked like parts of a statue.
It looks more like a statue of Venus than a muscular Greek statue.
“Hehe. Are you confident? Is it because you have been traveling for a long time?”
I asked without thinking—because it was timed for the magic circle—as if we were chatting in the seat of an airplane.
【Huh. This is an example of a god’s word. It seems that humans are confident in long-distance movement, but I also think that even if I compare one stamina with you, there is no shortage.]
Veronica replied that she was a little disgruntled when she boasted about her and yet she was ignored.
Well, a person who is confident in their body shape is not interested in the other person, and if their body shape is ignored in the past, they will get angry. I’d be pissed off if some bitch made fun of my macho body as a bodybuilder’s knockout-level instagram garnish.
In this case, honest praise was effective. I said with a shudder.
“That is great. How many years have you been traveling?”
【Well. 10 years, that’s about it.]
“Ten years? No, how old do you think you are?”
I screamed in horror.
They looked just like humans except for the horns, so I was thinking of them based on their looks without even realizing it. Well, that much would have been necessary to collect that many Rune Stones.
When I asked her age, Veronica replied with a pout of her lips.
【… In terms of human age, he is 20 years old.]
“Don’t talk like the lady who owns the damn hair salon, Poppy.”
Of course, as a veterinary student, I know a formula like dog age-human age.
But isn’t that just a formula for pet owners’ mental management? It was only revealed that Veronica’s biological age was less than 300 years old.
This was a mystery in biology, comparable to why hairdressers dye their dog’s ears.
【Anyway, the fact that I’ve been traveling like that is, after all, the work of a seer.】
Veronica didn’t want to reveal her age, so she changed the subject.
It was an unreasonable drift that even a fucking 20-ton dump truck could overturn, but I gasped at the feeling that if I tried to stop it, I would get caught up in it.
【He is the guide of Mansu, who will liberate the fate of Embossed Beast. The mercy bestowed upon the descendents of gods and demons will arrive in the twilight of the passing of the age.]
Renewing the atmosphere of jokes, a reverent tone as if reciting sutras during a ceremony! It seemed to be a prophecy that it would come down among the bicorns.
【It is said, a berserker who does not descend into a beast. A king who is not devoured by ferocity and fury, but who gives rest to fallen beasts. On the day he returns, all beasts must vacate their thrones and learn about the king.]
“… What gives you rest?”
I don’t think I’ve ever heard a sound similar to that, but am I mistaken? I shook my head as I remembered hearing the same phrase in Tabula’s Will cutscene.
How did that bastard know the prophecy passed down to the Bikons, the gods of Germania? A similar prophecy is passed down to the village of the barbarian tribe from the same region—Berserk.
【This is the prophecy left by the prophet. We, the bicorn, relied on these words and waited for the time when salvation would come down. Without hesitation.]
Said Veronica, blowing his hair in the wind. As if looking back at his own clan’s past.
【Thousands of years have passed just like that. The curse continued and the Holy Land left behind by the Prophet collapsed. Even so, the clan shut themselves in the Holy Land and waited for salvation. Even though there are those who couldn’t stand it and tried to bring the ‘end of the era’ mentioned in the prophecy with their own hands.]
At those words, I thought of Abidus, a unicorn with a broken horn.
The bastard who was a black magician and necromancer was a guy who did evil with black magic.
I was also curious about why a unicorn called the Holy Beast would do such a thing, but to be honest, I wasn’t really interested until now. As I often say, trying to understand the mind of a lunatic is a waste of time.
Perhaps that prophecy was passed on to the unicorn as well.
That’s why the pseudo-preachers who strayed from the road appeared, or something like that.
【So I pretended to be someone who remembers the words of the Prophet. I wanted to find a record in the rune stone that was lost when the golden city built by humans collapsed.]
“So you left the Holy Land and found another prophecy?”
【Accurate. Well, because of the curse, I showed you an ugly face from the first meeting.]
Veronica tucked her wind-damaged hair back behind her shoulder. She then lifted her seal, which she had.
Since we had exchanged it several times already, I reached out for it this time, but Veronica quickly dodged it. Like a wild horse escaping from a rope.
What the fuck Did you suddenly get greedy for the mana battery?
I thought so even though I thought it was unlikely, but Veronica stroked the handle of the broken seal and said,
【My dear. The mana of the rune that should be in the seal has decreased slightly. If I’m not mistaken, this seems to have recovered a little of the mana you stored, is that correct?]
“Uh? Oh what right.”
【Is that so? It is truly astonishing.]
Veronica’s eyes shine as she honestly answers the chain of questions bouncing back and forth like a bouncy ball.
There was something strange about the atmosphere. Veronica approached, hushing her footsteps just as she did before the ambush of the ogre.
【I’ve never heard of being able to “Inherit” Rune mana from a defeated opponent due to my lack of knowledge, but you didn’t even have the rune of ᛃ(Jēra), did you subtract the rune’s mana? The rune’s mana should be inseparable from the original owner.]
Veronica’s eyes lit up.
There was a hint of joy in her eyes.
【You know how to handle our words, and you have so many extraordinary abilities. Isn’t it natural that I have expectations of you?]
