Chapter 374 – Seething Calm (3)

“I can’t accept it. Everything has to be dirty like me…”

Ah yes.

There’s no way the saintess of evil spirits is sane.

While she was momentarily dazed at what she did not expect to come out of Karla’s mouth. Carla’s cry reached my ears.

“It’s dangerous, Master!”

“Uh?”

When she came to her senses belatedly, a bundle of tentacles approached her nose before she knew it.

Kwaaaaang!!

I was able to block her without a problem because I had reinforced her shield just in case, but the fact that I was attacked by Karla was more shocking.

I know that Carla is not this Carla… Even knowing it, it’s shocking. Because she has the same face no matter what.

It happened at the same time that one ruby-colored eye, which had been somber all along, frowned and another ruby-colored eye burned with anger.

“You! This is fake! How dare you attack my master with my face?!”

“The really ugly Heonseong-nim is dead.”

Karla swaying in front of me. However, she just let out a sigh as if she didn’t care about the other Karla.

Even if a god dies, his authority remains. That’s why I can keep those tentacles… Also, the output will drop.

She decided to take a look at it one more time just in case. Wouldn’t it be a little different if you knew that the ugly prosperous was dead?

“Okay. I killed I don’t know how it happened, but if you’re the Carla I know, nothing holds you back anymore. So…”

“One thing. I am telling you that there seems to be some misunderstanding.”

Carla interrupted me and tilted her head.

“I have never been forced to do anything by the ugly Prosperity Lord.”

“… What?”

“I wished for revenge, killed someone who had nothing to do with revenge, and hoped that everyone would fall to the same eye level as me. Because it was all my will. Ugly Prosperity simply gave me power and the direction to wield it.”

“That…”

“Did you say you were Yandel in the first place? According to Seething Calm, you already know what kind of life I have lived.”

“…”

That’s right. Carla of H&A was in a state of ruin long ago. Ugly flourishing only took away such a Carla.

Carla’s eyes stared blankly at her speechless. At the bottom of those deeply sunken red eyes, you can feel the overflowing hatred and anger.

I realized from the words of a little while ago. Reconciliation is impossible.

Just as I hate cultists and have no intention of turning to evil spirits, Karla’s flames will never be extinguished.

Until you burn the world or burn yourself.

This Karla, like the other cultists. No, she is a monster far more terribly insane than any cultist.

It is only natural that the seething silence has awakened as an apostle on a level similar to that of Fiona, which was created with great care over a long period of time.

So you must kill it. I have to kill…

I can’t bear to move my magic.

A short hesitation caused by having the same face as Karla. Perhaps others paused for the same reasons.

Only one. Except for Carla herself.

“Get up! Prominence Flare!”

Without even a moment’s hesitation, Karla sent the most powerful magic that she could use.

A small sun brightly illuminates the cavity, and the bloody water that fills the floor boils.

A power that is hard to see as a middle class magic. However, Karla, who had to deal with the magic, held out her hand while raising the corner of her mouth crookedly.

“Ah, magic. What was once my everything. Still beautiful… You can’t kill me with that anymore.”

The tentacles on the back wriggled and embraced the magic that was on the verge of exploding. The sound that followed.

Just like when he ate the Seething Silence’s head, he swallowed even Karla’s magic.

I know what that is because I saw it at H&A. An energy drain-type power similar to that of a succubus.

Carla, whose complexion had gotten even better than before, kept a smile on her face.

“Thank you. For not killing me right away.”

Then he took her outstretched hand and brought it to her own breast. At the same time, black stale water welled up from the center of Carla.

Carla, who was wrapped in the seething stillness that she had just absorbed, continued her words.

“Thanks to you, I can escape safely. As a token of gratitude, next time we meet, I will kill you painlessly.”

“Hey, wait!”

I hurriedly raised her mana, but it was too late. The bubbling stale water covered Karla and immediately sank to her floor as if melting her whole body.

All that was left was a handful of black puddles. But she even evaporated in an instant.

It must have escaped this place with the power obtained by absorbing the head of the seething calm.

“…”
“…”
“…”

Silence settled in the cavity. While no one was able to open their mouths easily, a bell that only I could hear rang.

Tring!

The alarm that you have defeated the Seething Calm. It was the reward he wanted so much, but now it felt like it didn’t matter.

“What’s going on…”

Because I couldn’t understand the current situation.

***

Once I left the cave, I was teleported to the nearest village.

Then, after renting a suitable inn room and closing her soundproof barrier, she opened her mouth.

“… Let’s tidy up.”

“What are you doing cleaning up? Seething calm and ugly prosperity must have joined forces to create my fake!”

Carla, who is still angry, is showing off her spirit. As if to calm her down, she lightly stroked her and nodded.

“It’s probably something like that. How she made Carla…”

“Master. Please don’t call that fake one by my name. I’m not that crazy bitch.”

“Uh? Yes… Let’s say it’s grub.”

Only then, Carla slowly calms down her breathing. Does that mean she can’t admit that she’s the same Karla as him?

She continued her words with a wry smile.

“Anyway, I just remembered it now, but I have a guess as to how she made Zapla.”

“… What do you mean, master?”

Carla secretly rubbed her body against me as if she was sorry for making a loud noise earlier. She patted him with the meaning that she was okay.

“Perhaps that little cocoon-infested stillness was the price of helping the ugly flourish.”

“Are you paying?”

“Huh.”

If the two of them had intended to make Zalla from the beginning, the ugly prosperity would have shown something to me.

But he didn’t show any reaction like that until right before he died.

So it’s highly likely that the Seething Silence asked to make a clone of Karla in exchange for simply helping out without giving details.

“In addition, it was our party who fought at the forefront in the war against the ugly prosperity, right? Of course, there must have been plenty of opportunities to get something like her hair.”

“Yes. But what… Wait a minute. Are you saying that the ugly flourishing copied my body using my hair, Master? Anyway, with just her hair…”

“I could have saved blood besides hair. Since it was a battlefield, there must have been many ways. What is certain is that it is not impossible. Right now, am I a similar being?”

“Ah…”

My body was made by Fafnir by processing his own body. But he also said that he cloned himself before that.

I failed because I couldn’t properly form self-consciousness.

“If it’s the power of ugly prosperity, it’s not impossible to create a body. The problem is the spirit that dwells within it.”

“… You see a seething calm intervening there, you.”

“No, that’s right! Come to think of it, the owner seemed to know the identity of the fake.”

“Strictly speaking, it is not fake. It’s because I’ve only brought up a future that might exist.”

“I am… Are you going to be such a crazy bitch?”

Carla opened her eyes in disbelief.

So far, we have only roughly outlined the future seen by H&A. But now I think I should give you a little more detail.

This and that, and that, and that, and the other, and the platypus.

He explained in as much detail as possible about Karla, who had become a saint of evil spirits.

Carla, who had been listening to my story with her mouth shut, reluctantly, but she nodded her head firmly.

“Indeed. That’s how it happened. Did I fall that far because I couldn’t meet my master? It is understandable to go crazy and join hands with evil spirits. … I still can’t forgive you for attacking my master with my face.”

Carla muttered while pouting her lips.

Is that the problem…

He smiled and nodded her head.

“Don’t worry. You won’t have to forgive.”

“Yes? What do you mean, Master?”

“Perhaps, just as I gained knowledge of the future, the Seething Silence also implanted memories of the future into a cloned body. Even if God dies, the power remains, so the cocoon must have been fine even after the ugly flourishing disappeared. Of course, the cut off power supply should have been replaced by seething silence.”

The seething calm assured me that I knew the future. In other words, he saw that it would be difficult to overturn a situation that had already deteriorated, no matter what he did.

That’s why, with the divine power created by squeezing out all the remaining followers and monsters, he chose Zalla instead of the plan.

This was clearly effective. In fact, I was so shaken that I couldn’t even respond properly when I faced Zalla.

“… But next time we meet, I won’t hesitate.”

I will definitely stop breathing. As she affirmed it with such determination, Elisha, who was next to her, smiled and helped.

“Oh? I hope so. If you’re hesitant, I’ll kill you instead.”

“… Elisha? Why are you looking at me and talking?”

“Well? Why, Carla?”

“You know it’s not me who should be killed, but that fake one?!”

The two fight exaggeratedly as if to revive the sunken atmosphere. Iona, who was laughing as if she was dumbfounded by that appearance, asked.

“By the way. If you know the true identity of Zzalla, can’t you predict where you will go next or where you will meet?”

“I have a few things in mind. The most likely thing is, of course, to become an apostle of another evil spirit and meet them in a battleground.”

“… I was an apostle of ugly prosperity, but can I become an apostle of another evil spirit?”

“As I said before, I was crazy from the start. There may be some efficiency issues… It won’t be very important to the evil spirits who couldn’t find a proper apostle.”

That’s why he confidently said that he would kill me painlessly the next time we met.

A proper apostle has power comparable to that of an archmage, but isn’t a career apostle called Zalleul?

“That, isn’t that dangerous, junior?! I think I need to chase after her right now and do something before I meet another evil god!”

“I want to do that as well, but there’s no way to chase after Fei-senpai. If it was a simple teleport, I would have followed the magic trail to find out where it flew… Of course, tracking is impossible because he used the divine power extracted from the corpse of the seething silence.”

“Then what?! Should I just let go and wait for him to come back stronger?”

“Please. Have you forgotten our original plan?”

“To… ?”

Faye blinks blankly as if she really forgot. He giggled at that dumbfounded look and pointed to the bed.

“For now, get a good night’s sleep. And tomorrow morning, we will go around the dungeon early.”

If the opponent is preparing to level up, shouldn’t we also become stronger in the meantime?