Is it wrong for me to like seeing the villain suffer [36]
Outside Kelston.
The Knight Commander stared sullenly at the village entrance in the distance, then let out a small nervous sigh.
Dawn was creeping slowly.
As the darkness dissipated, the features of the village began to become clearer little by little, but his eyes did not see any trace of his master, no matter how long he looked.
Even his soldiers showed signs of worry on their faces.
Fear of the undead, anxiety for the fate of their master, and the stress of the possibility of disaster, were all reflected on their faces.
“What are we going to do now?”
One of the knights asked cautiously.
“…….”
“The sun will rise soon.”
The commander silently turned his gaze to his soldiers, then returned his eyes to the entrance to Kelstone.
But even upon reconsideration, not a single shadow belonging to his master appeared to him.
A deep inhale filled his chest, then he shouted his orders:
"Get ready! We're entering Kelston now!"
“……!”
No one was surprised, they had expected this in advance.
As if they had surrendered to the inevitable, firm looks filled with determination appeared on their eyes.
The knights dismounted to rest from their riding, then began to inspect the saddles, while the swordsmen and archers prepared their weapons.
The leader stood looking at them with a calm face.
Despite the weight of responsibility, he tried to hide his nervousness and opened his mouth in a stern tone.
Then—
"Here! Look over there!!"
One of the knights shouted, pointing behind the commander.
The leader quickly turned around.
"…impossible…."
He gasped in turn, his eyes widening in astonishment.
From within the village, something was stirring up thick dust as it madly rushed toward the entrance.
They are the knights who left with Arkell.
But what shocked the leader was not his returning comrades, but rather what was chasing them behind them in groups - people with hideous appearance, unmistakable corroded bodies... living dead, no doubt.
“Sir…! They—”
“I did not imagine that their number would be this large...”
“Oh my God...”
The commander was the first to regain consciousness.
“Regroup! Armor guards and archers forward! We will rush to support them immediately!!”
With his scream, the soldiers woke up one by one and rearranged their ranks.
“To attack!”
The leader rushed in front, and the knights followed him running toward the entrance to Kelston.
As for their companions fleeing the living dead, they were already on the verge of the entrance.
'Just a little...just a little!'
The leader stared with eyes full of hope.
'If they just pass the entrance, the magical border will prevent the undead from coming out—if only they could arrive unscathed without a drop of blood being spilled!'
As if his hopes gave them strength, the fleeers finally reached the tree standing at the entrance to the village.
'We survived!'
The commander breathed in relief... but at that moment—
“...!!!”
They suddenly fell to the ground before crossing, writhing in pain as if they were dying.
A horrific thought flashed through the commander's mind:
‘Is it possible… that the undead are capable of using magic?!’
"Stop! It might be magic energy!"
The leader shouted as he pulled his horse's reins to stop his rush.
Progressing without knowing what is going on is like committing suicide.
Because their knowledge of the living dead is almost non-existent, it is not impossible for them to be able to control magic.
So recklessness was not an option.
'What on earth is going on...? First, we have to understand the situation...'
The commander tried to maintain his composure as he surveyed the scene at the entrance.
“Ahh!”
“Gghh!”
The fallen knights were screaming and rolling on the ground in pain.
Despite the distance, the leader could clearly see their faces distorted by agony and panic.
Behind them, the crowds of the undead were getting closer and closer.
They were not fast due to their torn bodies, but they were still closing the distance little by little.
“Sir…! We must save them….”
One of the soldiers said tremblingly, while the commander's brow wrinkled in painful confusion.
He didn't want to watch his comrades die.
But…
“If I don’t come back, everyone’s fate will be in your hands.”
A wrong decision could mean the annihilation of all of them.
Hasty judgment may lead to complete annihilation.
As Arkell said before his departure, as long as all the responsibility falls on his shoulders, this must be avoided.
“We will monitor the situation further.”
The knight leader said with a firm face.
His low voice mixed with seriousness left his soldiers no choice but to obey, no matter how painful it was for them.
“…….!”
As he looked at his comrades lying on the ground grimly, a glimmer of hope appeared in his eyes.
The knights, who were still writhing in pain, began to crawl towards the entrance.
The leader unconsciously clenched his palm.
'Yes, it is enough for them to just leave the village...! Just a little... just a little!'
As if they understood this too, they started dragging their exhausted bodies with pained faces, and crawling with determination until they got closer and closer to the entrance.
Gradually, the distance between them and the living dead chasing them increased.
'Just a little...!'
Finally, half the body of one of the knights passed through the tree standing at the entrance.
The others took this as an incentive, biting on the blades and increasing their speed, until most of them had only extended their legs behind the guardrail.
“Nooo!!!”
The advancing knight shouted in an breathless voice.
One of the undead caught him by surprise and clamped down on his ankle.
Then another came from the other side and grabbed his leg as well, and the two started dragging him violently.
“No-!! Please, save me!! Save me!!!”
His voice was like someone's intestines being split open in pain and terror.
Soon the undead grabbed the others' feet as well, pulling them out one by one.
One of the dragged knights extended his hand towards his companions, his eyes shining with terrifying features filled with anger and disappointment at being left to die alone.
The leader's face froze from the horror of the scene and he closed his eyes tightly as if he wanted to erase that image from his memory.
But then—
“Cut-!” (It means so and so)
Suddenly a clear, resonant female voice rang out.
'That sound…?'
The leader opened his eyes hesitantly, and saw...
“Well done everyone.”
“Ah… it was hard.”
The knights who a moment ago were being dragged to pieces rose up, shaking off the dirt from their bodies, and then exchanged salutes with the living dead!
“Good news! This scene can be adopted as is, it was perfect on the first try.”
“We're really not shooting again?”
Among them appeared a silver-haired woman supervising the place, and beside her a tall man assisting her—there was no doubt, they were their master and mistress.
Lizzie turned and waved her hand at the leader, who remained stunned and merely blinking.
“We'll come to you right away! Don't worry!”
He didn't understand what was going on yet, but at least he realized that the danger had passed.
That alone almost knocked him off his feet in relief.
Then Lizzie's voice came to him from afar:
"What did you think of our last scene of the movie? Isn't it exciting?"
“…….”
The commander did not understand the meaning of her words, but one thing was clear:
If he was that sexy again, he might give them both a heart attack.
❖ ❖ ❖
I was in Kelston shooting a film using a photographic stone I had brought with me.
Classification: A mixture of mystery, horror, and suspense.
Cast: The Knights of Caen and all the inhabitants of Kelston.
The plot is simple: Humans (played by the Knights of Cain) venture into a cursed village, trying to evade its inhabitants (played by the people of Kelston) but end up falling into their grasp and dying.
In other words: everything that happened was an enactment of a scene from a movie.
However, even after hearing the explanation, the knights waiting outside Kelston had expressions of complete bewilderment on their faces.
The most confused of them was the leader with the bushy moustache.
I put my hand on his shoulder soothingly:
“This is all just a plan to discover the magician’s location.”
“Is this how he is...?”
Since the result was successful, he had no choice but to accept it even if he did not fully understand it.
“I want to try again.”
“Kan,” the first living dead person we met in the square, said with an excited expression.
“For years I have been standing motionless... I have not moved like this for a long time.”
The sparkle had returned to his extinguished eyes, as if he had regained some life.
And he was not alone.
“Aww… I want it again.”
An old woman mumbled, her skin worn out and her tongue weighing heavy.
“Grandma, you played your role brilliantly. If we film another part, I will use you again!”
“Aww...must be...”
“A promise.”
My fingers intertwined with her slender fingers, and then a young girl approached, half of her face skinned, and said:
“I enjoyed…”
“So do I. You all helped me without complaining, and with your cooperation we got it done safely.”
She added in a low voice:
“And thank you for not being afraid of us... and not disgusted by us.”
"Why would I? You're not that scary or disgusting at all."
She smiled shyly when she heard my response.
“I haven't put in an effort like this in a long time... Really, it was fun.”
The trick that came to my mind while I was listening to Kahn's talk in the square worked.
In my experience, the simplest and most powerful way to defeat helplessness is to find something to do.
'Although that in itself is more difficult than he thinks.'
So I gave the people of Kelston a new job: “acting.”
'Isn't this a double win?'
I hung the photographic stone back around my neck and laughed secretly.
He was the one who was not originally willing to negotiate with us, and today he is showing clear friendliness.
At first, he had no intention of cooperating.
'But now, it is at least possible to open the door to dialogue with him.'
Moreover, I no longer need to bemoan the absence of horror films in this world—
'I made one myself!'
All that remains for me is to go back and collect the clips and edit them, so that a complete film can be produced.
As for the residents of Kelston, they kept exchanging stories about the experience they went through, as if it still resonated with them.
And the knights who assumed the roles of humans, although they looked exhausted, their faces suggested that they did not hate her.
Everyone seemed satisfied.
“…….”
Except for one person, Arkell, who volunteered for the role of the human leader but ended up as a backstage assistant due to his severe inability to act.
****
My translator friends and I opened a special channel to leak novels, chapter announcements, events, and also requests and promotions...and if I disappear, you will find me there.
Here is the channel link. Take a screenshot and go to Google Lens from it:
https://t.me/+OedqgPvPKXoyZDFk