Chapter 7

[I see the square over there! Hang in there!]

It was only just before I fainted that I was able to reach the downtown area of ??the capital.

I didn’t even remember how I got off the wagon.

Fortunately, as soon as my feet touched the ground, my dizzy mind was cleared.

I put the ragged hood on properly, then took the paper out of my arms and unfolded it.

Once I was successful in entering the downtown area, it was not difficult to find my way.

“Let’s go.”

I moved with excitement.

But after a while, I realized that something was wrong.

First, a large dog ran towards me.

Just before being bitten, a soldier patrolling nearby saw it and stopped it.

“I’m sorry! I lost the leash..”

The man who seemed to be the owner of the dog made an excuse, but somehow it felt strange.

The dog’s pupils were completely dilated. Its saliva was dripping out of its mouth endlessly, and it didn’t look alright.

If it had ended there, I could have laughed at him for being a little unlucky.

But the strange events continued.

Next, I almost tripped over an obstacle that suddenly appeared.

I managed to balance myself and look back, but to my surprise, there was nothing on the floor.

‘As soon as I stepped on that certain point, something popped up.’

This was not a normal situation.

My nerves were on edge and all my senses began to get more sensitive.

[Up there! Be careful!]

As soon as I stepped back with a shriek, I heard an unpleasant sound of something smashing right in front of me.

“Hey, is it a flowerpot this time?”

There was a flowerpot the size of a soccer ball in the spot where I had been standing a while ago.

If I had been a little late, I would have been hit in the head.

Ash’s voice became serious.

I gritted my teeth. Things were getting dangerous.

‘It’s driving me crazy.’

At this point, even if nothing happened, I would be scared.

Several threats were given in a short period of time in the middle of the day.

Especially the last attack, it could have really cost me my life.

‘They’re making it obvious.’

As the situation had come to this, the poisoned tea leaves were no longer the problem.

I grabbed my hair, contemplating how to get through this crisis.

[Olivia! Look ahead!]

‘Huh?’

While I was immersed in my thoughts for a moment, the scenery around me changed strangely. It was a strangely quiet street.

An unpleasant feeling was emanating from passersby.

There were cold gazes looking at me.

I got goosebumps and the hairs all over my body stood.

I could tell instinctively.

‘I have to run away.’

I walked faster on my own.

The strange passers-by began to follow me. They were gradually, but surely, increasing in numbers.

This time from the left, and the next block from the right.

Because of them popping up here and there, I had to change the direction of walking several times.

Then, at some point, I got an eerie realization that made me shudder and stopped.

‘I’m being chased by a crowd..’

[Oh no! It’s a dead end!]

I turned around slowly, breathing in and feeling the chill on my back.

I should have noticed sooner.

Those who followed along were walking slowly after fully revealing themselves.

They were walking like a hunter to its prey, like a spider approaching the butterfly that was stuck on its web.

[Olivia, what are you going to do?]

Ash’s voice trembled.

My heart started beating violently with the rising tension.

I gritted my teeth and watched the people in front of me.

‘Their movement is unnatural. As if someone’s controlling them.’

I didn’t think it was their will to do this.

Due to the tension, the knuckles on my clenched fist turned white.

A cold sweat ran down my back.

‘There is no way out.’

As soon as I felt the crisis and bit my lower lip, a tremendous pressure was applied to my whole body.

“Argh!..”

I groaned at the unexpected pressure and collapsed.

[Olivia!]

I could hear Ash’s urgent voice, but I couldn’t respond.

My body trembled so much that it was hard to control it properly and it didn’t feel like my body.

Thud.

It was then that I heard the sound of footsteps slowly stomping on the ground.

.

I lifted my shaky eyes in surprise. Soon the image of the person was reflected in my eyes.

‘Who..’

A man with black clothes walked into the alley.

His aura was even more terrifying.

When our eyes met, the surroundings became colder.

I felt like I was suffocating from fear.

And it seemed I wasn’t the only one feeling it.

“Gi, gii..”

Each of the unidentified passers-by who followed me made a strange noise.. A mixture of fear and despair that sounded like a scream.

Some tried to escape, but to no avail.

The body of a passerby, who was the first to escape from the man, was split into two with a creepy sound.

“Ugh....!”

I covered my mouth with my hand at the horrific sight, barely swallowing the scream that came out.

But the most shocking scene came next.

‘I can’t believe it..’

The inside of the severed body was completely empty.

As if all the contents had disappeared and only the shell remained.

In the blink of an eye, their bodies turned black.

At the second blink, they began to crumble like broken ceramic dolls.

Then, everything was over.

The things that were shattered into black ash were blown away by the wind that came from an unknown place.

All that was left was a little bit of black powder scattered on the ground.

I couldn’t believe the scene in front of me.

‘How, how could this happen?’

It was impossible to even properly judge what had happened. I even felt faint.

One by one, those cut by the sword turned into dust and disappeared. The man who had done all that slowly stood up straight.

Then he looked at me.

“..!”

My body stiffened instantly.

My heart started pounding so much compared to before.

The man who blocked my movements with overwhelming fear narrowed the distance leisurely.

I stared blankly at him, not even thinking of avoiding him.

The man quickly reached me.

The moment I took a deep breath and crouched down,

“You’re a human being.”

A very low but soft, resonant voice entered my ears.

My movements suddenly stopped.

I had been closing my eyes for some time.

I lifted my eyelids, which I had tightened so hard.

Then I processed the man’s words in my head.

‘..A human?’

I was out of breath in a different way than before.

The man was quite tall.

His solid and perfect proportions that could not be hidden with clothes clearly showed his strength.

Shiny black hair, and elegant yet distinct features.

Above all else, blood-red eyes that shone intensely caught my gaze.

Even his expressionless face and the cold atmosphere he exuded were alluring. He was an overwhelming beauty that seemed to be out of this world.

‘This kind of person actually exists.’

It felt as if a celestial being who had set foot on the earth was looking down on a lowly human. He had such an unrealistic appearance.

“What did you do to bring out all those hidden things?”

As I was staring at his face, I was startled by the voice I heard.

When our eyes met, the man pointed to the back with a chin gesture.

At that moment, my hazy mind suddenly returned as if I had been hit by cold water.

“A little while ago, what was that?”

Then, I asked some questions before I answered him.

“Why did they try to attack me? How did you get rid of them? No, who are you?”

Many questions came out of my mouth.

I was going to ask more, but the man looked at me with a slight frown.

A faint hint of annoyance appeared on his handsome face.

“I should hurry up and erase it.”

“What?”

‘What are you erasing?’

While blinking without understanding what he said, a cold palm touched my forehead.

“No worries. When you wake up from a deep sleep, what happened a while ago will be replaced with ordinary memories.”

“What did you say?”

“Just treat it as if you met a robber.”

I was shocked to hear it.

He was saying that he would erase my memory.

In addition to that, memory manipulation.

I was so shocked that I couldn’t even speak.

I looked at him as if I was protesting, full of resentment, but the man didn’t even blink an eye.

And after a while, I felt a warm energy on my forehead.

“W-wait! Who said I want to erase my memories?”