Love Letter From The Future

5. Bread and dagger (84)

“I can.”

These were the words spoken by old Pope at the meeting with the elves in the village.

At the time, I was in the middle of a happy encounter with the elves.

The elves who faced me after a long time showed a dramatic reaction.

Isha, who was secretly soft-hearted, burst into tears, and old man Ruggett and Dolph even embraced me. It was an attitude to find the missing family again.

Not to mention Avian, who is closest to me.

The clear eyes of the girl we met again were watery. After wiping away my tears for a while, Avian greeted me with a tearful voice.

I missed you.

I silently patted the elf girl and comforted her.

I didn’t deliberately ask how he was doing.

It was after his sister was absorbed by an unknown monster. And the monster was on the way to cover the land, endlessly increasing its body.

As if he was going to eat the whole world like this.

I could roughly guess how Avian felt.

There was not even a good place to vent that bitter resentment.

It was an enemy that I couldn’t even figure out how to deal with.

No, does the means to kill the monster exist in the first place?

The opponent was a mass of flesh overflowing along the horizon. The expression ‘natural disaster’ was more appropriate than ‘life’.

It was a question whether the concept of ‘death’ could be applied. There wouldn’t be any means to wipe out the flesh occupying a vast area.

No matter how you calculated, the chances of Avian’s revenge being fulfilled were slim.

It was in the middle of such a despairing toro.

Old man Pope opened his mouth.

At that short declaration, everyone’s eyes turned to old Pope.

He had a grimace on his face, as always.

Even if you only look at the outside, it’s just a boy.

Of course, it had been necrotic for a long time since the inside had rotted away.

He was a man who lost his wife and daughter to a human attack a long time ago. The storms and storms of the years he had to endure alone were devastating.

After that day, old Pope said he never forgot his family for a single day.

And maybe that was why he couldn’t grow old.

Old Pope’s time has stopped since then.

‘old boy’.

With the words that came to mind naturally, I looked at old Pope. It was a gaze mixed with anticipation and disbelief.

Old Pope was a seasoned hunter. In addition, they were also residents who had lived in coniferous forests for a long time.

It wouldn’t be strange if he knew a number I hadn’t recalled.

Only one question remains.

how the hell

It was a war situation that even tens of thousands of troops could not overturn. It was hard to believe that there was a trick to reverse this.

Even so, old Pope was confident.

“It’s thanks to you. What allowed us to survive… And again, the safety of the village elves could be guaranteed. The blonde woman was supposed to take care of it.”

“Are you saying you’d like to repay that?”

“Bread for bread, dagger for dagger.”

It was a phrase I had heard so many times.

At first, it was advice from a captive elf. And after falling in the elven village, it became a part of my life, and in the past, it became the last piece for victory.

It was a strange feeling.

How can such a short phrase be entangled and entangled to create so many relationships?

While I was immersed in a brief sentiment, old Pope continued his story.

“Now villagers don’t need hunters. The time for retirement, which I had hoped for, had arrived… So helping you is my last mission.”

“No, is there any number? how the hell… … .”

“You don’t need to know.”

My brow narrowed slightly at that firm answer.

It had to be. Assuming that I was preparing for a decisive battle with the family of that evil god, the person in charge was me. Didn’t the saintess just say that the other day?

The forces gathered in the north, including the Yurdina family, were waiting for helpers.

swordsmith and saint.

It was after an agreement was reached to maintain the war situation until the two arrived.

But suddenly, you’re going to face that monster on your own?

Of course, I also had to shoulder the burden that followed.

Even the family of the evil spirits could not stand alone.

At least the army had to be mobilized, and it was a yard where thousands to tens of thousands of people could lose their lives at my word.

Prior to that, checking the detailed plan was a necessity, not an option.

But you don’t need to know the details.

I had no choice but to make the sound of Bolmen.

“Old man, I know very well that you don’t like me because I am a human being. But what we have to do is not play soldiers, but war. You need to share your plans in advance… … .”

“I decided to trust you.”

I was speechless at the sudden confession.

It was something unimaginable for old Pope. As evidence of that, the rest of the audience, except for me, had their eyes wide open in surprise.

It was only old Pope who kept his composure.

he told me again.

“It has been since I recognized you as the village hunter. In the village, being a ‘hunter’ is a very honorable job… Defending the village and procuring food.”

Each word was heavy.

I shut my mouth first and stared at old Pope.

He seemed particularly calm today.

Perhaps it was because he had been released from a long-standing obligation.

“There is no mission that is not directly related to the lives of residents. Actually, I wasn’t sure at the time… now i know The fact that you will make a good hunter.”

“Sir… … .”

“As with anyone, trust is especially important to hunters. The same goes for me.”

I didn’t mean to say it intentionally.

The meaning was so obvious that I had to let out a small sigh.

I meant to believe.

Originally, it was nonsense. No matter how much I was, there were limits to being forced.

Trust an old elf and entrust your life to him?

How many people can agree to this?

However, as soon as I met Pope’s eyes, I finally gave up my objection.

His eyes were full of strong conviction.

Nevertheless, if you weren’t giving me details, it would have been better to interpret it as having a story.

In the end, all that came out of my mouth was a single question.

“Is there any reason you can’t tell me?”

“yes.”

Then I had nothing to say.

I have no choice but to trust old Pope as much as old man Pope trusts me.

Anyway, persuasion was my job.

I said something plain, as if I was surrendering.

“good. Believe me.”

Leoric had a debt to pay.

The cost of the lives of Avian and other elves and all those who fell victim to his trickery.

I decided to take the bill with me.

**

Pope stood on the field.

A storm was brewing in the distance. Vision was blurred by the blizzard, but the seasoned hunter instinctively understood this.

The showdown is right in front of you.

Now it was his turn to act.

Isha and Avian stood beside him. It was because Pope had deliberately called only the two of them.

Isha didn’t seem to question that fact at all.

Originally, she was a talent that Pope picked up as the next hunter and raised her. It is said that Ian will be the next hunter, but he was a hero of mankind.

He couldn’t remain in the North forever to protect a few elves.

Then, naturally, only Isha was left to inherit the hunter’s legacy.

It was a natural courtesy for the heir to watch his master retire.

Rather, if the question remained, it was the existence of Avian.

Avian had no idea why Pope had called him.

He was just staring into the distance with an uneasy and anxious expression on his face.

This was a battlefield where lives were staked. Ian was just worried about his safety.

So Pope decided to make his case as brief as possible.

“Isha, take good care of the village.”

“Yes, old man. I wish you well in the future.”

Isha’s relaxed answer made Pope giggle and laugh.

I had no idea how many years it would take for this young elf to become a full-fledged hunter.

but that’s okay

Time was always on the side of the elves.

The next person he asked for was Avian.

“And Avian, young elf… I won’t ask you either.”

“Why?”

The response was immediate.

The elf girl, who had been staring at the horizon for a while, looked at Pope with an incomprehensible look.

Avian had no connection with the village.

Occasionally stayed for a few weeks, but that’s it. However, he was not as talented as Ian.

Still, Pope did not recant his claim.

“I hate humans.”

It was a fact that every elf in the village knew.

Avian was about to ask what it had to do with it, but soon shut up.

It was because Pope’s tone was different from usual.

A groaning voice continued.

“Even before I lost my family. Countless neighbors have been killed at their hands. I couldn’t help but hate… No, actually, I couldn’t bear it without hating it.”

Then the old man took a step.

night and death.

I have been afraid of burning fires since before. On the day his family was murdered, Pope vowed to curse humans for the rest of his life.

But deep down I knew.

What he cursed was not a human being.

He hated and hated the helpless himself who had to shed tears in front of his family’s corpses.

“I’ve been like that my whole life. Hating others, hating them… On the one hand, I tried my best to be forgiven by the family I couldn’t protect. I wanted to think that death was salvation, and continuing this harsh life was atonement.”

“… … old man.”

Every time Pope’s words were spoken, Isha’s expression changed every moment.

Isha, who had been together for over a hundred years, realized instinctively.

What decision did Pope make?

Avian’s face was still unresolved.

“Avian, kid… But you don’t have to live like that. Aren’t you in love with humans?”

He couldn’t pretend he didn’t know the intent of that blatant question, so Avian’s face instantly heated up.

The flushing was so intense that he was ready to smoke at least steam from the top of his head.

Stuttering, before Avian waved his hand.

Pope took another step without even hearing an answer.

“Treasure, that heart… I will carry the old Eunwon with me.”

Right after that, the sound of the wind hitting my ears.

Pope’s body kicked off the ground and was shot. The limbs that ran while crushing time complained of overload.

A sound like a scream came from behind.

Perhaps it was Isha’s voice.

She was an unnecessarily affectionate woman. They are the pillars that will lead the village elves from now on, but they have a soft heart like me, so what are they going to do?

no, it doesn’t matter

Wouldn’t a world come where you don’t have to hate and resent anyone?

The war is over.

The entire coniferous forest fell into the hands of the monster, and most of the elves were eaten. Even Pope wasn’t free from that sin.

He was also one of Leoric’s followers.

The ‘blessing’ left on his body was proving this.

The field of vision gradually narrows with the sound of panting breath.

It was lack of oxygen.

Suddenly, his body was supposed to stop listening, but Pope felt a strange sense of relief.

The body gradually becomes lighter.

The pain subsided, and a languid sensation dominated the whole body. At some point, Pope fell into a kind of delirium.

Are you standing on the ground yourself?

Or is it flying in the sky?

The scenery of that night was playing in the blurred vision.

He lost his wife and children.

It was a miserable life that he had replaced that miserable feeling with hatred and used it as fuel for his life. Every night was painful, and I sometimes made wrong judgments because I was too resentful of myself.

Even so, Pope did not regret the decision of the day.

On the day he was ‘blessed’ by Leoric, he said to Pope:

“Brother, this is proof that we are truly one. This ‘blessing’ will make your wish come true on the day your atonement ends.”

Hearing that, Pope swallowed a laugh.

Because the wish he was holding was so obvious.

Pak, a white thunderbolt strikes in my mind.

Suddenly, Pope was rolling on the ground. His body, covered in snow, was rapidly losing body heat.

It didn’t matter though.

‘Cause I’ve finally reached it

Ahead of me, I could see hideous seething flesh.

Pope crawled over and laid his hand on the flesh.

Reminiscent of an old wish.

my wish, yes

that.

“I-no… Percus… … .”

Muttering a still-unfamiliar name, Pope put his hand into my chest.

Then, the dagger he always carried was in his hand.

Tentacles rose menacingly from the mass of flesh.

As if he wanted to eat Pope right away.

Seeing that look, Pope smiled lightly.

Is that the god I once served?

It was a really ugly faith.

So today, Pope decided to plant another belief over the grave of the blind servant.

“… … Believe.”

At the same time, strength went into the arm holding the dagger, and a sharp pain pierced the spinal cord.

even for a while.

Pope felt the coolness fill every joint of his bones. Pope’s spirit, freed from his physical prison, flew into the sky.

and now i see

loving wife and children.

The bright faces I hadn’t seen since the day the village burned and Pope shed bloody tears.

Oh yeah.

he was longing for

want to go back

To the day I could see my beloved family.

The world was dyed achromatic, and time began to go backwards.

Along with the screams of the masses of flesh that covered the earth.

The volume of the monster, which could not even be measured, was rapidly shrinking.

**

“This, what is this… aaagh!”

Hearing Leoric’s howl, I crouched down.

The flesh that surrounded them was disappearing in an instant. The same was true of the flesh elves who surrounded me.

Leoric couldn’t resist the trend either.

Leoric’s body, which had been howling for a long time, collapsed and was pushed aside.

Far away, somewhere in the coniferous forest.

As if I had been waiting, I took out the potion from my bosom.

It was a reagent developed by Emma while I was kidnapped.

“Now let’s finish it.”

The end of this bloody battle was in sight.