Chapter 14 : The Beginning of the Disaster (Or Not)

Hubert ran frantically.

He was short of breath, feeling like he was going to vomit,

But with the single-minded determination to announce that the disaster had begun, his feet would not stop.

The wind brushed his cheeks sharply, and sweat soaked his entire body, and his clothes were soaked. But Hubert, forgetting all those discomforts, ran only forward.

“A little bit more, a little bit more! Hurry!”

Arriving at the village after running without stopping.

Seeing the village children playing peacefully,

Everything he had seen a moment ago seemed like a terrible lie.

Hubert, who was standing blankly for a moment, shook his head violently.

‘No, it can’t be a dream! It was definitely reality!’

He hurriedly ran to the village chief.

The village chief was praying to the Goddess in front of the fountain today.

The pure white light emanating from the fountain was gently illuminating the village chief’s face.

“Chief—!”

“Ah, what’s the matter, Hubert? So urgently….”

Hubert shouted, gasping for breath.

“A gr, a big problem! In the Sacred Ground, in the Sacred Ground! A disaster has occurred!”

“Wh, what?”

The chief looked at Hubert with surprised eyes for a moment, then burst into a hearty laugh.

Then he shook his head slowly, as if it couldn’t be true.

“Hubert, are you perhaps forgetting? This is a sacred place where all good people start a new life. It’s Elysium, the paradise blessed by the Goddess.”

“I, I know that too. But it’s real, a real disaster has appeared!”

“…Ho, truly. A disaster.”

“Th, that is… huff. First, the, a loud sound echoed, so when I went to the Sacred Ground, a black monster in the Sacred Ground’s sky—!”

The chief shook his head and spoke, as if he was talking to a child.

“Are you still going to make such discriminatory remarks? This world is open to all races. To decide without thinking that it’s a monster because its appearance is different from others. That’s not right.”

“No, it’s not like that! It’s real! It was truly a hideous monster!”

Hubert shouted anxiously.

“And half of the Sacred Ground soared into the sky. Please, believe my words!”

“…Ho.”

The chief hesitated for a moment at his urgent attitude and desperate tone.

Hubert’s eyes were unwavering, and his voice was full of truth.

“…Half of the Sacred Ground soared into the sky?”

“Yes! I saw it with my own eyes! Something like a black-red flame was covering half of the Sacred Ground, and when it disappeared, half of it had soared into the sky!”

The chief frowned and muttered.

“What on earth is such a nonsensical….”

“It’s real! Not only that! Strange black thorns appeared and disappeared on the suddenly soaring cliff!”

“…Thorns?”

At that moment, the chief’s expression hardened.

“…If that’s the case.”

“Yes! It’s like the prophecy that spread through Elysium, the ‘Black Calamity’…….”

“Stop.”

The chief took a deep breath and closed his eyes.

When the chief opened his eyes,

His face had a resolution different from before.

“Hubert, to be honest, I don’t believe it.”

The chief continued, carefully looking around.

“If your words are true, it could be a sign that this world is shaking.”

“Yes? This world?”

The chief stroked his beard with trembling hands.

And soon, he murmured quietly.

“Could it be, the Black Calamity… was real?”

“…The chief is thinking something similar to me. That prophecy, which everyone thought was a joke, is real.”

The two looked at each other with tense expressions.

[Black Calamity]

‘When paradise turns red, and the balance of the sky collapses,

The Black Calamity will appear and pour out monsters to devour paradise.’

A prophecy that spread throughout Elysium a very long time ago.

In this always peaceful place, it was merely regarded as a joke.

But now, that absurd prophecy might have come true.

The chief closed his eyes tightly.

In the Elysium of the past,

Even if the prophecy were realized, there would have been no need to fear.

Even the Black Calamity,

Would have knelt before the heroes.

Elysium.

The Goddess’s paradise for all good souls.

A place where great heroes obtain peaceful rest and start a new life.

But.

The ones who remained here now were no longer strong heroes.

The heroes who were burning with fighting spirit had all gone to Valhalla,

Most of the remaining strong people were also tired of peace and started a new life.

That place,

Was filled with ordinary souls who had reached this place with only good hearts.

In the end, Elysium was not the paradise of heroes, but

It simply became the paradise of ordinary people enjoying a peaceful daily life.

There were still those who had not put down their weapons,

But even they were just exchanging blows in the only arena in the capital, and that was all.

Losing the instinct and the sense of battle in a long comfort was the same.

‘Even if they had the fame of heroes, could they face the disaster now?’

The chief sighed deeply and turned towards the fountain.

The stream of pure white water flowing from the fountain was still clear,

But to the chief’s eyes, the water seemed to be shimmering vaguely.

“We have to gather the people.”

“Yes? Really?”

Hubert sighed in relief.

He was a little relieved that the chief believed his words.

“But what you saw… might just be an illusion.”

“…Yes? No, it’s real!”

“Okay. But it might also be a whim, so let’s check it first.”

Hubert didn’t say anything more.

He felt a desperation in those words, hoping it was a whim.

The chief rang the big bell in the village square.

When the huge bell rang throughout the village,

People began to gather in the square one by one.

“What is it, Chief?”

“Are you holding a new festival again?”

The chief gestured to the villagers and opened his mouth.

“Everyone, pay attention for a moment. Hubert saw something strange in the Sacred Ground.”

“What strange thing?”

“Could it be, another clumsy intruder appeared?”

“The ones that fall with one kick?”

Laughter erupted from here and there.

The laughter grew bigger and bigger, and the chief rang the bell hard again.

People shut their mouths at the chief’s serious expression.

The chief began to speak calmly.

What Hubert had seen.

What had happened in the Sacred Ground.

And…….

The words that all of it might be the beginning of the [Black Calamity].

As he continued the story, the expressions of the people hardened little by little.

“Is it, by any chance, that absurd prophecy?”

“The Black Calamity. Is it real?”

Tension rose among the people.

It was a prophecy they had heard in a joking manner all this time,

But everyone began to murmur, looking at the chief’s serious face.

“Chief, what should we do then?”

“Let’s form a search party!”

Someone shouted, and

Soon, the villagers nodded with firm expressions.

But, one person raised his hand and said.

“Wait a minute! But, is that monster really that threatening? It could just be Hubert’s exaggeration.”

“What are you talking about! I saw it with my own eyes! It was a hideous, terrible monster… it was so scary it would appear in my dreams!”

When Hubert shouted, someone else expressed a mixed reaction.

“Hmm…. But this is Elysium. Since all good beings start a new life, maybe even monsters can come?”

“There are many scary people in the next village too.”

“It wasn’t that level!”

“Stop!”

The chief cut off the words with a sigh.

“Okay, let’s do this. We’ll form a search party and head to the Sacred Ground, but we’ll check the situation first and act when necessary.”

“Yes! Should we wait until the people on patrol come back?”

“…Okay. In the meantime, we’ll prepare for their part. Since it might be just a whim, let’s not cause unnecessary worry to the heroes of the capital.”

People nodded and started preparing for the search.

But even while people were busily preparing their weapons and equipment,

Some of them couldn’t help but laugh and chat.

Hubert frowned at the sight.

‘This is a serious situation, why are they so relaxed?!’

He tried to instill a sense of crisis in them, but

Their light laughter would continue even if Hubert spoke.

‘Please, have some sense of urgency….’

Did they hear Hubert’s wish?

A huge cloud of dirt began to form in the forest near the Sacred Ground.

The vibration shaking the ground and the sound of ‘thump thump’ were getting closer and closer.

At last—.

“What is that?!”

“Wh, what. Mon, monsters already…!”

“The Black Calamity has arrived—!”

A horrible monster of all the colors of the rainbow.

No, the first encounter with the army of adorable bunnies.

The bunnies, covered in black-red bean paste from running and landing.

Their appearances were hideously covered with dirt and black substances, like golems created by black magic.

But the bunnies whose bodies and minds were inversely proportional.

The pure bunnies were excited and shook the carrots as soon as they found people.

To express the joy of finding people.

And to guide the people that are behind.

When the bunnies shook the carrots high into the air, people gasped and stepped back.

“We, weapons up!”

“Prepare for battle!”

“Evacuate the children to a safe place!”

One of the bunnies who was diligently shaking a carrot, ‘thumped’ the tree next to it with its carrot.

It was because the sticky red bean paste on its arm and the carrot was bothering it,

But the people, who had no way of knowing, took up their weapons with more pale faces.

Another bunny couldn’t stand the stickiness and quickly shook its body.

As the bunny’s body became clean,

Some bunnies, who thought ‘this is it’, began to shake their bodies.

A few bunnies, who considered the carrots more precious than their own bodies, ‘thumped thump’.

With a full swing, they vigorously hit the tree and cleaned the carrots.

The red bean paste covered with dirt splattered in all directions.

The trees around them swayed, and the birds flew away noisily.

A terrifying scene brought about by the bunnies who loved cleanliness.

Some completely lost their will to fight,

Others also couldn’t easily come forward in front of these ferocious monsters.

Only one-sided uncomfortable confrontation was continued.

Someone, carefully observing the bunnies, cautiously stretched out their foot.

Then.

One of the bunnies, seeing that, quickly approached, shaking its carrot happily.

‘…To, bunnies. Let the big bunny stay, and let the rest go outside and promote…?’

Unlike the ungrateful red bean paste on their bodies,

The bunnies were good mascots, who followed their master’s words more than anyone else.

The role of the mascot was promotion.

Taking pictures with people or hugging people who approach was their main task.

The bunny opened its sticky arm with difficulty and hugged them tightly.

“Aaaaaaah—!”

“Aaaaah!”

“Alan!”

“Get away from Alan, you crazy monster!”

The people attacked the bunny with weapons.

The mascot bunny with high defense but zero attack power.

Shook their carrots and expressed that they don’t want them to.

Even so, they didn’t let go of the person in their arms to fulfill their role.

The other bunnies,

When their companion was being hit, rushed at the people at once.

To embrace the people who were randomly hitting the mascots with love and warm hugs.

The people who didn’t know that, stopped hitting and started to run away.

A one-sided love chase was continued.

The bunnies ran to make a loving hug,

The people began a life-and-death escape.

‘…Oh my god.’

Hubert closed his eyes tightly, seeing the terrible tragedy.