CH 38

I am afraid. Even when faced with the devil, even faced with death, I’ve found a way to live. But now it’s pitch black. I can’t see a way out. I’m afraid that Simeon is really going to die, and that I’ll miss my only chance to save him.

“…Huh.”

Funny, isn’t it. I was so sure of victory, knowing that his only weakness was me, him who feared nothing, but I was wrong. I’m no different from him.

My greatest fear is his death. I fear his absence even more than my own death. When it comes to his well-being, years of hard work can be undone in an instant. When the easy and ideal path is in front of me, I choose the difficult and foolish one.

Some may call it love, but I can never admit to it. That feeling. The extent of that emotion… will remain unrevealed until death.

“Where is he? …That person.”

Even if it’s cowardly self-righteousness.

“The guild leader is at the base now.”

As soon as Raphael had finished speaking, I went into my room and started to dress. My hands trembled as I buttoned a few buttons. There was a possibility he could die. There was no time for rational thought, for wondering if I was making the right choice or if I was making an irreversible mistake.

There is only one thought in my head. What happened that would cause him to be on the brink of death? He probably wasn’t injured in the dungeon. No matter how serious the injury is, it is hard to die as long as Raphael has the healing ability. Then, it’s a different reason. To think I’m the only one who can save Simeon…What the hell is Raphael expecting from me?

‘I thought maybe if it was hyung, the guild leader would open his heart.’

I didn’t know why those words appeared in my mind now. I grabbed a seashell so I could call Michael, just in case. As I left the room, Raphael jumped to his feet as if he’d been waiting for me.

“Are you sure you want to help?”

(TL/N: You’re the one begging him, now you’re asking him :)) )

“I don’t know what I can do, but….”

Raphael brushed off his chest, his anxieties put to rest. Before we departed, I locked the door but noticed the overcast sky. The black clouds looked like they were going to pour rain at any moment.

“Will the boat be able to float in this weather?”

“Boas?”

“Yes. The Apostle’s base is in the middle of the ocean, so we’ll have to take a boat, or maybe a helicopter.”

“Ah,” Raphael sighed with a worried glint in his eye.

“That’s fine. Does hyung’s house have a door with a keyhole?”

“A key… hole?”

The front door is an automatic lock, but luckily the bathroom door has a keyhole. I gestured to the bathroom, and Raphael walked over and stood in the doorway. Unable to contain my curiosity as he fumbled in his jacket pockets, I asked,

“What are you trying to do?”

“I’m trying to connect the path to the ark.”

“…The ark?”

“Whoever has Noah’s key can go in and out of the ark anytime, anywhere.”

What is Noah and what is the ark, and is he referring to the awakener’s powers in the Apostles?

As I pondered, Raphael pulled a long, thin stick from his pocket. He inserted it into the tiny keyhole, and with a click, a faint glow emanated from the crack in the doorway.

When Raphael finally opened the door, a damp breeze rushed in. As I thought it smelled strangely like the sea, just beyond the door lay a blue sea.

“What the….”

My jaw dropped and I couldn’t shut it. In a single moment, an ordinary bathroom door became a passageway to the sea. The stark divide between the inside of the house and the bar, with just a single threshold, was unreal. Even the wildflowers swaying among the cliffs and rocks carved by the rough waves were strangely familiar.

As if reading my mind, Raphael crossed the threshold first.

“This looks familiar, doesn’t it?”

“…It’s the base of the Apostle.”

“That’s right, we call it the Ark.”

The base, floating alone on the sea, looked like a ship, but it was an ark, and if you inserted an olive branch, called the “Key of Noah,” into the keyhole, it would open a passage to the ark. This is how the Apostles were able to escape from the scene of each incident.

I crossed the threshold cautiously, my eyes scanning my surroundings. I could feel the grass and soil beneath my feet. The realization that I wasn’t dreaming made it all the stranger. Meanwhile, Raphael quietly closed the door to the bathroom, asking.

“Can you keep this a secret? It’s taboo to open the door of the ark in front of outsiders who are not apostles.”

“Yes….”

I nodded shakily. No one would believe me if I told them anyway.

Suddenly, I turn around and instead of an old toilet door, I see the entrance to a base that looks like a modern art museum. The sight was more uncomfortable than welcome. My fists clenched as the memories of the past came flooding back to me.

“So, what is Simeon’s condition now?”

I asked him and he gave me a disheartening answer.

“…I don’t know.”

“What?”

“Because no one saw him.”

He said he might be dead. If no one saw it, how could they know? The doubt showed on his face, and Raphael explained calmly as we entered the base.

“Only a small part of the apostle knows, but the guild leader has a Sabbath.”

“Sabbath… you mean like a holiday?”

“No, no. It’s just a name for convenience, it doesn’t mean anything at all. Anyway, when it comes around, he never comes out of his room, and he’s asked us not to, because he’ll come out on his own when the time comes. I don’t know why, but somehow… I felt like he was locking himself in the room.”

I’ve never heard that before. Raphael once told me that Simeon doesn’t even trust the member guilds he works with…. Is there such a thing as a secret that must not be revealed to anyone?

“What is he doing in the room?”

“…I don’t know.”

“What?”

“Because of the barrier the guild leader put in place, the apostle can’t go in…. but he usually comes out in a day or two, so I thought it would be the same this time, but it’s been a week now, and even though I put food in front of the room, it hasn’t been touched, and I can hear something breaking and cracking every now and then, and yesterday morning was even worse.”

Raphael, who had been walking briskly through the maze of corridors, suddenly stopped. He glanced around, as if to make sure no one was watching, and then whispered in a low voice.

“I think he’s hallucinating…”

“Hallucinations?”

“I was putting food out at the front of the room when I overheard a voice talking. It was the guild leader talking to himself, but it was like he was having a dialogue.”

A hallucination, and he’s even having a conversation with it…. I have a bad feeling about this. Simeon’s condition was much worse than I had anticipated. My mouth went dry with a sudden wave of anxiety.

After a few moments, Raphael’s steps stopped at a door. The door was vaguely familiar, black wood with a curved pattern carved into it. It was the room containing the <Portrait of Saint-Germain>, where he had come to see Simeon the day before.

“Is he in here?”

Raphael nodded silently and reached for the doorknob. There was a crack, a spark. Unlike me, Raphael calmly looked down at his hand, as if he had seen this coming: his fingertips were swollen red, as if he had touched something hot.

Before I could ask if he was okay, Raphael grabbed me by the shoulders and said,

“It’s sealed to keep the Apostle out, so you can get in, and besides… I’m sure the guild leader will listen to you, so I’m sorry to get you tangled up in this, but…….”

“You don’t have to apologize, I said I’d come.”

I gently tugged his hand off my shoulder. I could feel Raphael’s nervousness in his trembling hands. I knew he wanted to save Simeon as much as he cared about me, so I spoke as boldly as I could.

“Raphael. Wait here until I come out.”

“Are you sure you’ll be okay on your own?”

“No problem, but if I’m in any danger, I’ll call you right away.”

Raphael let go of my hand and took a step back, I then stood in front of the door and knocked.

“Simeon?”

I called out his name, but it was dead silent on the other side of the door. I have no choice but to go in. Cautiously, I grabbed the doorknob and turned it, and unlike the sparks I’d seen earlier, the door opened quietly. I shot a look at Raphael to tell him not to worry, then stepped into the room alone.

Click.

The door closed, and the room was plunged into darkness. The first thing that caught my eye was the <Portrait of Saint-Germain>. The only light in the dark room was the small lamp above the painting. After a while, my eyes got used to it and I could see my surroundings.