A Horror Novel’s Supporting Character Wants to Live as a Human

Chapter 308

Chapter 308

Landvidi, the capital of the ancient Acheron Empire and now a ruined city buried in its former glory.

Long ago, Asgard had also tried to make Landvidi its capital in the context of continuing Acheron's legacy,

But unfortunately it failed because the circumstances were different from those times.

Even afterward, plans to revive Landvidi were promoted several times across generations, including installing a Small Mage Tower nearby, but they all fell through.

Currently, it had become a city where no one lived and only a few scholars visited to look around the ruins.

And they, heading there.

[Believer, did you wait? This body's return. Appeared. Believer's wish. This body does not abandon the believer.]

"Mm-hm."

With Aphoom-Zhah - snowman version - on his shoulder,And beside him Yurik, who had once smashed the snowman's head, sending terrifying glances that he tried hard to ignore,

He was walking while enjoying Asgard's weather, which had become much milder than during his first visit.

Aphoom-Zhah's head that Yurik had trampled was already perfectly restored.

In fact, the Aphoom-Zhah operating on this land only had his consciousness connected; his body was closer to a doll powered by magical power and ice.

So no matter how much Yurik crushed him, he could just restore him with his magical power.

Perhaps realizing this, Yurik no longer tried to destroy Aphoom-Zhah, but his mood still seemed bad.

As evidence, even now he was dragging his feet buried up to the ankles in snow while looking at Aphoom-Zhah with gleaming eyes full of murderous intent.

How was he supposed to handle someone who had been in a good mood until just now but had rapidly turned bad again?

It wasn't like he was a parent with a teenage child. This was maddening.

"Yurik."

"What."

"I'll keep what you said even if you don't look at me like that. Put away that burdensome gaze."

"...I'll try. As long as that god doesn't do anything foolish."

[This body does foolish things? No. Believer's will. This body fragile. No durability. Miss human body.]

Where was this whining coming from?

He pressed down on the whimpering snowman's head and said.

"Both of you get along nicely. Why are you so desperate to devour each other?"

"A so-called god should first fulfill his duties before I decide whether to overlook anything."

[Believer. That guy persecutes this body. This body scared.]

"Hah..."

He decided to ignore them. Ignore them. Both of them had inflated egos, so if he got swept up, only he would suffer.

He tried to shake off the troublesome matter by sweeping from his forehead down his face with one hand.

"How much further do we have to go?"

"Just a little more. If walking is difficult, should I carry you instead?"

[Believer, don't use teleportation magic? Great this body. Use magic. Carry believer. Whoosh whoosh go.]

"I don't like teleportation magic because the motion sickness is severe. I'll end up vomiting something again and it'll take longer to recover. Since you say we're almost there, I'll just go on my own feet."

[Believer, good idea exists.]

"What is it?"

[Here, Asgard. Snow everywhere. This body likes snow. Fluffy. Cold. Believer also likes?]

"Well, I don't dislike it."

[Believer. Then will blow you. Go straight there? Believer comfortable. Don't hurt because of snow. This body also comfortable. Time shortened.]

Blow him? Hearing that suddenly reminded him of Eibon.

He had memories of Eibon using the north wind to catch him. Was it that type of magic?

No matter what, Aphoom-Zhah was indeed the best.

"If time is shortened, there's no reason not to do it. Do I just stand like this? No need to crouch or anything?"

"Yesung. Wouldn't it be better not to do such things if possible? Why don't you get on my back instead?"

"No. You'll be tired too if you keep going. I can't just keep being a burden. Then Aphoom-Zhah, please."

[Hehe!]

Aphoom-Zhah jumped down from his shoulder.

Aphoom-Zhah, who had been toddling across the snow, raised his stubby arms and shouted.

[Ta-da!]

"?"

He waited for a moment, but nothing happened.

Far from the expected gust of wind, not even a breeze stirred, so while he was exchanging glances with Yurik in bewilderment, a terrifying sound came from somewhere.

An avalanche? No, where would there be a zone for avalanches in such plains?

If he had to compare, it sounded like a bull or large four-wheeled carriage running behind him...

Yurik was also looking around when suddenly his eyes widened.

"Yesung!"

"What's- aaaahhhhhhh!"

A bull rammed his back and charged forward with him!

Aphoom-Zhah and Yurik's figures disappeared far behind in one second.

He flailed his arms and legs, but couldn't resist at all due to the wind pressure hitting his entire body.

In the midst of this, all he could do was scream 'aaaahhhhh save meeeeee' with all his might.

A short time of 15 to 20 seconds passed,

And as soon as the strong force pushing his back disappeared, he rolled several times across the snow field due to inertia and face-planted.

What had just happened to him?

His mind was hazy and he was about to stay put when, after a moment, someone lifted him up with the crunching sound of footsteps on snow.

Careful hands removed the snow stuck all over his face, and only then could he open his eyes.

"Yesung. Are you alright? I didn't know that guy would use magic like this either, so I couldn't prepare-"

"......"

"Yesung?"

"Where did that Aphoom-Zhah bastard go?"

Yurik just said "Ah" briefly, then without a moment's hesitation, swiftly handed over the snowman he had brought.

The snowman struggled and then screamed when he saw him.

[Believer! Believer! Not on purpose! This body mistake! This body, believer memory, imitated KTX? Believer body, didn't think of effects! This body's mistake! Believer forgive! Believer not angry!]

"This kind of thing... is magic?"

[Believer overlook! This body overlook!]

You bastard. What kind of thinking led to the idea of hitting a person with a gust of wind to send them flying far away?

He grabbed Aphoom-Zhah's neck.

"Today I'm your unbeliever."

[Believerrrrrr!]

* * *

"I thought it would all be buried in snow since it's said to be old."

"Not quite. This city has historical value. If you go that way, there should be the now-collapsed imperial castle."

Yurik pointed northwest as he spoke, but nothing could be seen in that direction.

"Collapsed imperial castle?"

"You can't see it well from here. The path we entered heads toward the center of the western city district."

"I see. Where was Eibon's residence? Near the imperial castle, or somewhere else?"

[......]

"Aphoom-Zhah. Answer."

[Sniff. Over there.]

Aphoom-Zhah, whose body had disappeared leaving only his head, whined.

As punishment for sending him flying, his body and head had been separated before entering Landvidi.

Of course, even doing this didn't prevent Aphoom-Zhah from using magic,

And he could easily restore his body if he put his mind to it.

But perhaps having a speck of conscience left, he was obediently accepting the punishment given to him.

He stroked the tearful Aphoom-Zhah with his finger while walking across the forgotten city.

A quiet city full of silence.

However, evidence that people had once lived here could be seen here and there.

Signs now so old they couldn't be read,

Empty carts and frozen hay,

Dried wells and wooden buckets someone had left out.

However, unlike Asgard's current architectural style, all buildings had almost no stairs and were mostly ground level,

And they were wood-centered rather than stone.

"Was the climate different in the old days?"

"That's right. Expanding to include Landvidi, southeastern Asgard, and even Vanaheim, it wasn't this cold. At most, snow would fall around the mountain ranges that current Asgard has."

"When the empire's capital was moved to Landvidi, was climate the first consideration?"

"No."

"Then?"

Yurik smiled.

"The strongest tribe lived here, so we just conquered them and started the war from here."

...He shouldn't talk about founding stories. He kept touching Yurik's bad spots.

Wasn't there another topic? Something that might make Yurik feel good.

"What kind of city was Landvidi?"

"What would be different about a place that existed during the Acheron era? It was a place where humans lived. There were just more of them."

"Don't you miss those times?"

"Not particularly. You know well what I was thinking when I founded Acheron, don't you?"

"That's true. But still, I thought there might be moments that would make you smile when you recall them... Am I being too greedy?"

Yurik was silent for a moment.

As they passed through a small alley onto a main road and walked along the curved path, he finally answered.

"I don't remember well, but there was a finance minister then."

"Finance minister?"

"Something good seemed to have happened at his house. I can't recall exactly what it was, but his joyful appearance left a vague impression."

"Mm."

"He would have said good things to me too. Like humans do when intoxicated with excessive joy, he would have given me blessings. I was the emperor ruling the empire. It didn't look bad to me. So... he really looked happy. Everyone usually dealt with me solemnly and seriously, so that might have been why. But when he said he hoped good things would happen to me like they had to him, I felt strange somehow. So I remember giving the finance minister a day off."

"Yes."

"That's all. There was nothing else besides that."

"Does it remain in your memory?"

"Why would it?"

Yurik suddenly began to ponder.

Though his body had fully grown, when he saw things like this, in some aspects he was no different from a tempestuous adolescent who hadn't fully matured.

Yurik, who had been mulling over that 'strange feeling' that had struck him, suddenly asked.

"Yesung, haven't you had such experiences?"

"Me?"

"Times when you laughed. Even when I wasn't there is fine. I won't get angry now."

When Yurik wasn't there. At his question, his memories swam upstream through time like salmon.

There were the times when the three of them - Eibon, Aphoom-Zhah, and he - had hung around together,

And the times when he had lived bickering with Shan and Tika in the first Theem'dra.

Going further back from there,

There had been the moment when he resolved to save Leandros,

And the ■■■, ■■■■, ■■, ■■■ who had been with him in those days, ah, but ■■ Yurik, you destroyed everything. The ■■, pig, star■■■, life ■■■, ■■■■da■■■■■■■■■■■■■■.

His head hurt. As if overloaded. But it was true.

He had lived how many lives, and trying to fit all of that into one brain was impossible from the start.

He hated pain. He hated suffering too.

So he decided not to remember any more.

"No."

"There wasn't any? Not even a single moment?"

"Haha."

He just laughed. Then Yurik laughed along, but somehow seemed not quite satisfied.

After that, they continued walking together without much conversation.

Though Yurik asked him more things, he mostly answered roughly and moved on. They were ordinary questions, but they didn't seem particularly pleasant for him.

As he answered half-heartedly like that, he suddenly realized the path was getting narrower.

How far had they walked?

"Aphoom-Zhah. Is this right?"

[This body, no mistake. Correct. Eibon, here.]

"But I think I heard earlier that it was the western city district, and if I'm not mistaken, over there."

"It says east."

Yurik reconfirmed the letters written on a sign that looked like it would turn to powder at a touch.

No matter how long they had walked, it was nowhere near the distance needed to cross an empire's capital.

But since both Yurik and Aphoom-Zhah were from that era, he couldn't tell who was wrong.

As he looked back and forth between Aphoom-Zhah's head and Yurik, Aphoom-Zhah rolled around in his hand.

[This body, not wrong. Believer, distrust? Eibon. Expecting believer's visit. Space magic. Believer, already knows.]

"You say I know this magic, what... Ah."

Magic cast over the city. Connecting separate spaces and sometimes completely isolating them.

It was magic he had already experienced once before.

That's why he could notice that Eibon's magic was much more sophisticated than that.

Her magic was much more subtle. Eibon was connecting spaces of similar appearance block by block so that walking people couldn't realize they were falling into magic.

Those she permitted would wander through identical-looking alleys before getting out,

But visitors invited by her would feel as if the path guided them just by walking.

Magic was a small miracle manifested by magical power.

Even if the same type of magic was achieved with similar amounts of magical power,

Depending on the caster's design, it could feel more natural and familiar.

This was why Eibon was called a Grand Mage.

Though it wasn't magic he had implemented, he somehow felt proud.

The alleys that had been divided into several paths merged into one, and at the end of the road,

A modest house appeared, not much different from what he had seen so far.

Ah, this was it. That impression came as soon as he saw it.

Without knowing he had dropped Aphoom-Zhah's head, he approached.

An ordinarily old, still crumbly-looking door.

Since there was no owner, it might be locked.

But as if possessed, he opened the door without hesitation. The door also opened smoothly with a 'click' as if confirming he was right.

Eibon's house was a single room.

Except for one pillar in the center to support the ceiling, there was nothing dividing the space.

A crude desk, bookshelf, chair, an empty bed.

And Eibon's staff leaning against the wall.

Despite the long time that had passed, the staff only had some dust accumulated and still looked sturdy.

Stagnant air and dust floating hazily in the air.

Having pushed through that,

He discovered a red book on the desk and a letter placed lightly on top of it.

A letter?

Opening the rustling paper, he found handwriting he knew written neatly in ink.

Her first sentence, as always,

Began very kindly toward him.

[Hello, my respected sleepyhead. It's Yesung's Eibon. Did you sleep well in the meantime?]