Irene Decided to Die - Chapter 149
In the deep of night, when everyone had fallen asleep, the gates of the royal palace opened. Only a few of those who had stayed awake and kept watch noticed.
“Adlen, the gates have opened.”
Eugene, who was sharing the room and taking turns watching the palace, woke Adlen up.
“Now?”
Adlen shot up from the bed and rushed to the window.
“Yeah, but it looks like something is coming out of the palace. The commotion is getting closer.”
At that moment, a distant scream echoed through the night.
“What is that?”
“A scream.”
“What could be happening?”
Adlen quickly grabbed her weapon.
“Wait. For now, it’s better if we stay inside and observe a bit longer.”
“But someone’s screaming!”
“Think rationally, Adlen. There’s more than one person screaming.”
“Even so, I’m going out to check!”
“You’re so stubborn.”
“Isn’t that why you like me? Let’s go, Eugene!”
“Alright.”
Eugene grabbed his bow and followed Adlen outside.
“Help! Someone, please help!”
A person was running for their life, and right behind them was a bizarre-looking monster. It was unnervingly fast, strong, and cunning.
It caught up to the fleeing person, sinking its teeth into them, then mimicked the words of its victim.
“Help me!”
The sight was so horrifying that Adlen charged forward, gripping her sword.
She managed to push the monster back quickly, but the blade wouldn’t pierce properly.
“Help me!”
The monster screamed, its mouth stretching wide. Then, similar creatures began to crawl out from behind it.
“Eugene!”
“Got it!”
Eugene aimed an arrow at the creature’s eye from behind. Most living things had weak spots in their eyes.
And the same went for the monsters. The one with an arrow stuck in its eye started thrashing wildly.
“Disgusting. Did this thing come from the palace?”
“Probably? With all this chaos, you’d think the palace would react, but it’s silent.”
Adlen and Eugene cautiously stepped backward, keeping an eye on the monster.
“Guess I should’ve listened to you.”
“Yeah, right. You would’ve gone out anyway.”
In the meantime, the guards rushed in, having responded to some kind of alarm, but they only added to the body count.
“Aaah!”
The monster gleefully toyed with the guards. They tried to save people, but it wasn’t easy.
And it wasn’t just here—fires were being lit, and screams echoed from all directions.
“What kind of creature is that?”
Adlen muttered irritably, and Eugene, standing beside her, responded.
“Maybe a ghoul?”
“A ghoul?”
“A monster that devours people. If it’s really a ghoul, you’d better not get bitten. And watch out for their claws. They’re venomous.”
“How am I supposed to avoid all that?”
“Quick movements are your specialty, aren’t they?”
At Eugene’s words, Adlen let out a sigh.
“If only we could somehow get this outside. The messenger birds won’t work.”
“It’s hard for people to escape too.”
“Sigh, those things… They’re relentless. Can’t we just set fire to them or something?”
“Oh, that reminds me, there’s something we can use.”
“What?”
“Beacon fire.”
With that, Eugene pulled back and started running.
“Hey, wait for me!”
Adlen quickly followed behind Eugene.
The beacon fires hadn’t been used in a long time, but during the war with the demons, they were used to signal urgent news.
Those beacon fires were preserved after the war, as a reminder of the pain, and they still stood within the castle.
If they lit one, it would be visible from far away. Maybe someone would see it and send help.
As they ran, the scenes around them showed that this place had truly become hell on earth.
But Eugene couldn’t stop. No matter what, he had to save Adlen.
After running for a while, Eugene wiped the sweat from his brow as they arrived at the beacon tower.
“Huh?”
Two men were already there. It wasn’t clear if they were enemies or not.
The moment they started to size each other up, Adlen arrived as well.
“Who are you? Allies or enemies?!”
“Depends on whose side you’re on.”
“We’re definitely not with the monsters. What about you?”
One of the men made the sign of the cross over his chest.
“Allies, then. So why haven’t you lit the fire yet?”
“We didn’t bring anything to start the fire with. We rushed here so quickly that we didn’t think of it.”
“You look like holy knights. Can’t you light it with your divine power?”
“We’re just apprentices.”
The men, who had revealed their identities during the conversation with Adlen, looked embarrassed.
“I’ve got flint.”
“Get up there, quickly.”
With the help of the two men, Eugene climbed up the massive beacon tower.
Normally, without burnable wood, it would be impossible to start a fire. But the beacon tower was a holy relic, blessed by the goddess.
It was said that anything related to fire could ignite it. There was supposed to be a caretaker, but the holy knights probably dealt with that already.
Without hesitation, Eugene lit the beacon. As soon as he jumped down from the tower, a large blue flame roared to life.
