The 31st Piece Turns the Tables - Chapter 103

Episode 103

Snowfall and Mirei were able to escape the shadow hunters while the black fog bought them time.

“Ugh….”

“Are you okay, Mirei?”

“are you okay. “Just… just get some rest and you’ll be fine.”

Mirei took out a cigarette from her pocket and put it to her mouth. Soon the cigarette caught fire and smoke came out of her mouth.

“Haha… unsightly.”

“Are those painkillers?”

“how did you know?”

Pandea also had painkillers in the form of cigarettes. Burning herbs and receiving their energy into the body.

‘You always carry painkillers with you?’

When Kang Seol looked at Mirei with suspicion, she shrugged her shoulders.

“I’m not feeling well.”

“… Is that why you don’t have much time?”

– Um… what should I do? I’m a person who doesn’t have much time. Can’t I find another friend?

This is what Mirei said to Kang Seol when she first met him.

“Do you remember that?”

“answer. “Now don’t hide anything from me.”

“… okay. that’s right. “I don’t have long to live.”

“How much is left?”

“You don’t know that. If it’s long, you could live for more than a year. If it’s short, you could die tomorrow. “Isn’t that what life is all about?”

Mirei laughed and blew out smoke.

“It’s a bit better now. Shall we take a walk? The hideout isn’t far from here. It’s enough to talk while walking. know? “I’m a busy person.”

She said that and walked away hurriedly.

“Wouldn’t your hiding place be discovered by them?”

“Well, even if I find it, it will take some time. “They mainly use the scent and feel of the Shadow Summoner as a means of tracking them, and their hideout has been treated with special treatment.”

“okay. And one more thing that cannot be summoned in front of a shadow hunter is…”

“This is your first time meeting a shadow hunter? They are trained to hunt only shadow summoners. It’s not strange to have such miraculous abilities. Well, there’s no way it would work on someone like Gregory, but at least it’s fatal for us.”

As she said, it was an unprecedentedly terrifying experience to see the summoned animal I had trusted not even move in the shadow space.

‘But… how do I drive out Malachus if I can’t summon the summons?’

Even if you gain enlightenment during this adventure, what happens next? Is it possible to defeat or outrun Malachus?

The snowfall became serious in a beleaguered situation.

“Don’t worry too much. “If this experiment is successful…”

“Mirei, I can no longer trust you.”

“….”

“I hid too many things. “The names, the pursuers, and even the fact that you are a shadow.”

“sorry.”

“I haven’t changed my mind, but I think I need to know all the circumstances now.”

Mirei scratched her head.

“What do you want to know?”

Kang Seol answered.

“entire.”

Mirei’s hideout began to appear before their eyes.

“What is your illness? Why are the Shadow Hunters chasing you? Why are you estranged from Gregory? And…”

Snowfall’s golden eyes crossed a line with Mirei’s.

“Why did you become a shadow?”

Mirei’s lips began to tingle.

* * *

Gregory is an eccentric and unloving person.

“You stupid bastard! “Stop giving up!”

“no! I don’t like it! Gregory you stupid bastard!”

Gregory is an idiot.

“Where is this from my teacher?”

“I don’t need any of these lessons!”

“under!”

Mirei hated Gregory.

I couldn’t even relate to why people revered him as a legendary being.

But no matter what Gregory was in her mind, he was a legendary shadow summoner.

At a young age, he persistently delved into the unique science of shadow summoning.

An academic shadow summoning technique that was simply dismissed as the delusion of summoners of previous eras.

Gregory collected the scattered fragments one by one. And combined with his own theory, he compiled it into a single study.

That was the background to the birth of the unprecedented profession called Shadow Summoner.

Gregory had many disciples, but among them, there was one he loved the most.

The student’s name was Mirei.

His third disciple, an orphan from a small tribe who had not yet been weaned, was evaluated by others as an eccentric act.

But Gregory thought differently.

‘This kid… is a genius.’

Mirei was a genius.

Her brilliant intelligence absorbs knowledge as if she will soon discover the essence of the Shadow Summoning Art.

Gregory admired her.

‘Miray will be greater than me someday.’

But Gregory overlooked her nature.

I later learned that the name Mirei meant ‘gentle flower.’ She was as kind as her name suggests.

He loved all life and was for them.

The problem was that her personality got in the way of raising the level of her shadow summoning skills.

“Miray’s shadow is a tool. No, even the expression “tool” is dangerous. They are wild beasts. “You must gag him and teach him thorough obedience.”

“No, shadows can be friends.”

“A clumsy thought… I know the true power of the shadow. They are scary creatures. It is a dangerous act to clumsily show a gap for them. “One day they will bite you.”

We always had arguments like this.

Gregory hoped that she would calmly focus on his education. And one day, he planned to pass on everything he had to her.

But she refused it.

“Gregory, you are the smartest person I know. More than me, no more than anyone else. But I’m right about this one thing. Shadows are not simple beings that obey power. “We are not their masters and we need to understand them more.”

“Foolish guy… Shadows are dead beings. You, the one who has lived, must bear all those regrets. Do you think you can handle it? “You’ll just be swayed by the shadows!”

“I will risk my whole life to prove that I am right. And Gregory, you are a coward who will not approach you simply because you are afraid of the shadow.”

“There will be a day when you will realize the meaning of my words, Mirei.”

This was the end of my relationship with Gregory.

The shadow summoning art he thinks of and the shadow summoning art Mirei thinks of are fundamentally different.

Mirei left Gregory’s side like that.

After that she wandered all over the world. However, as soon as she left Gregory’s arms, many villains with a grudge against him targeted her.

Shadowhunters were also one of her main enemies.

“Haa… haa….”

Although the struggle continued each time, she did not neglect her research.

“Genius Mirei’s 77th record… Coexistence with shadows must go beyond simple assimilation. “Assimilation is nothing more than a summoner holding the reins and wielding a shadow, and there are limitations that prevent us from moving toward mutual understanding.”

A lot of time has passed.

To Gregory and Mirei.

With countless fake identities and countless fake facial expressions, she lived her life pretending to be someone else.

But I kept only one sincerity.

“Are you having a hard time Sodin?”

Sodin was a shadow that had been with her for a long time. Mirei was always kind to Sodin, just like her name.

“… it’s okay.”

“Tell me if it hurts.”

“I’m fine, but… what about Mirei?”

“me? Haha… I’m cool too.”

Sodin always felt sorry for her.

Her research made no progress for a long time. As her shadow, he thought it was his fault.

“Mirey, you may be right. Just…”

“Stop.”

“The reason there is no progress in research is because I am not strong. Another shadow…”

“Stop talking about that, that’s not the problem.”

Mirei truly thought so. And I believed that if I took enough time, perfect coexistence with the shadow would be possible.

But there was something she didn’t expect.

That there wasn’t much time left.

“Wow….”

“Mirei! “You witch!”

The chase was persistent.

Especially that group that includes a shadow hunter named Malachus.

Finally, he was pierced by his arrow and was swept away by the river.

“Haha… I can’t believe it. “I never thought that this genius Mirei…cough…would make such a mistake.”

It was a mistake to get on the carriage carelessly.

His identity was discovered by Malachus. I fought as hard as I could, but the arrows were ultimately unavoidable.

She used her wits and managed to get rid of him, but she wasn’t in a good condition. I lost too much blood.

My consciousness gradually faded. Blood continued to flow from my chest.

“Huh… Hmm… What record was it… Do you remember Sodin?”

“…This is the 299th.”

“okay. Mirei’s 299th record… Uh… I can’t remember. Why can’t I think of anything? It’s strange that Sodin dies. It hurts, but it doesn’t hurt. Was Sodin like this too?”

“… I did the same.”

“I’m glad I have you… uh… huh? I see Yes, that was the problem!”

“What are you talking about, Mirei?”

“I figured out why we couldn’t be one. Cough… Oh, I can’t… I can’t die, but now I know. I have to prove it to Gregory…”

“Miray!”

Mirei realized this before she died.

That you were right. And how to become one with the shadow.

How the shadow and the summoner go beyond a simple submissive relationship and become a relationship where they accept each other.

“Even summoners… have to experience death. That was… the only difference between the shadow and the summoner. It was possible if you understood that. But how? Ugh… what should I do? “I can’t because I don’t have enough time…”

Mirei’s glass-like eyes became increasingly blurred.

It was about to face death.

It was then.

Sodin opened his mouth.

“Miray.”

“If you temporarily put it into suspended animation… Oh, that’s it.”

“Miray.”

“Sodin… It’s cold. Are you always cold too? Sorry, I didn’t know. “There are all blankets in the bag…”

“Mirei, please listen to me.”

dump.

Sodin knelt in front of Mirei. Mirei asked with blurry eyes.

“Will my end be as Gregory said? Are you disappointed that I couldn’t make your wish come true, Sodin? So you’re going to eat me?”

“No, I swear nothing like that will happen. Mirei.”

“Thank goodness…”

Sodin told her with a determined expression.

“You are a kind person.”

“Hehe… okay, thank you.”

Okay.

Sodin held Mirei’s hand.

Her hands were gradually losing strength. Sodin’s hands have no warmth, but Mirei’s hands will soon become like those.

At that time, Sodin spoke up.

“I will buy time.”

“What… what are you talking about?”

thud.

Sodin hit his forehead on the floor.

“You shouldn’t die yet. You’ve always lived with it in your mouth, right? I will leave behind a great step. I’m going to prove Gregory wrong. “I will make all the shadows move from death to life.”

“….”

“I will give you my body. It may not last long, but it will give you time to scream to the world.”

“No, Sodin. Ugh…don’t do it! Don’t do it!”

“If I were stronger, I would have protected you… I’m sorry for being weak.”

Hwiiiiiii-!

Sodin’s black energy slowly disintegrated and enveloped Mirei.

It feels like a new skin has been added.

Mirei was able to hear Sodin’s last words even as his consciousness faded away.

“Miray, my wish was you. May you achieve what you want. Goodbye, my friend….”

* * *

Mirei’s cigarette puffed out smoke. The smoke pushed away her memories.

Sodin’s face, voice, and memories.

“The living and the dead accept each other. Easier said than done? Is it possible? yes? “You think so?”

“… Now it all makes sense.”

“You know, Gregory’s summons are powerful, but they all hate Gregory. “He controls their behavior by imposing restrictions.”

Kang Seol quietly listened to Mirei’s words.

“Is that right? I think not. So I’m thinking of giving it a try. “Until the last great step.”

Mirei looked at Snowfall’s face.

There was no trace of playfulness on her face.

“Through you. Now choose. It’s okay to go back like this. “Then we have never met, and if we go far away, there will be no threat to our lives.”

“What are the other options?”

“You are helping me to see the end of this research. In the process, you will experience death, so what are you going to do?”

Now that we know all the circumstances, all that remains is Kang Seol’s choice.

After a brief thought, he opened his mouth to answer.