Chapter 96 – Truth (4)

As soon as the red light that had been piercing my eyelids faded, I quickly opened my eyes and scanned my surroundings.

‘…What was that? Did something change? Or was it just an effect before using a skill?’

Alber Hamatan, still scattering a faint red glow, was standing in place with his arms outstretched. The people surrounding him were also opening their eyes, which they had tightly shut, and looking around in confusion.

Even after checking my status window, there was nothing unusual. It seemed like there were no changes in others either. Surely, it wasn’t just a bluff, was it?

“Hey, the women are moving!”
“Hey! You there! Don’t move! I said don’t move! Oh, oh?”

So, something was happening after all.
Over by the mercenaries, where the women had been gathered, they were slowly getting to their feet.
Pale complexions, vacant eyes, and swollen bellies that rippled like waves. The women, who looked bizarre to anyone, rose from their spots with unnatural movements and then charged like wild beasts.

“Aaaah! Th-this crazy bitch bit me! Help me!”
“Stop! Stop it… Heeik!”

The mercenaries, horrified by the bizarre appearance and the sudden charge of the women with their swollen bellies, couldn’t respond properly.

Some fell backward as they retreated, others seemed to have forgotten their weapons and just waved their hands, quickly getting surrounded and turning bloody, and some kicked the swollen bellies in desperation.

Amidst all that, I noticed a woman who had been kicked in the belly by a mercenary staggering back and then falling over.

‘Just from a kick?’

Indeed… they might look bizarre, but the women’s combat power, as they charged with unnatural movements, wasn’t that scary. They seemed quite fast and ferocious, but if you looked closely, their muscles were rupturing from their own force.

It seemed they were squeezing out all their strength without knowing their limits, but it didn’t seem like they were surpassing their physical limits.

In the chaotic situation, Cha Hyewon’s sharp shout pierced my ears as she threw the women far away.

“Yurian! What are you going to do!”

Out of the dozens of mercenaries and guards, only a few had actually been injured, yet the confusion was excessive compared to the damage. It was understandable that they were flustered by the sudden charge of the bizarre-looking women, but weren’t these people supposed to be veterans? It was pathetic that those mercenaries and guards were still in a state of confusion, unable to come to their senses.

“Don’t panic and stick together! Get a grip! Their combat power is terrible! If you respond properly, they’re not difficult to deal with!”

After a few of them were attacked, the horrified mercenaries began to grit their teeth and push the women back. They kept flailing their arms and baring their teeth to bite, but they were no match for the well-armed veteran mercenaries and guards if they just came to their senses.

Soon, with the organized resistance of the mercenaries and guards who had regained their composure, the enemies began to be pushed back helplessly.

“That’s all there is to it. Is it over?”
“Tsk. Don’t say things like that, it’s unsettling.”
“…Ah!”

I realized my mistake at Cha Hyewon’s rebuke. I had unknowingly uttered ‘that line’ that was bound to happen.
When I watched comics or novels, I always got annoyed when characters would say such contrived lines, but now I was the one saying ‘that line.’ What a foolish thing to do….

Surely, the enemies wouldn’t get stronger like in a cliché, would they?
Looking around, the mercenaries and guards, who had calmed down from the initial chaos, were easily blocking the enemies. I felt relieved at the enemies’ unexpectedly poor combat power, and just when I thought that was all there was to it, I noticed a woman clutching her belly and staggering back. Her abdomen twitched and expanded, and then she began to leak a sticky green liquid between her legs.

‘Whoa, I thought something was going to happen like in a cliché, but it was just her water breaking. And why does the amniotic fluid have to be green, so disgusting.’

Her swollen belly convulsed and then burst open. And from there, a disgusting-looking insect crawled out and instantly jumped onto the face of a nearby mercenary.

“Kkyaaaah!!”
“Yurian, your mouth is the problem!”
“…Shit.”

The monster, which looked like a scorpion, wrapped its eight legs around the mercenary’s head and stuck to his face. The mercenary let out a terrible scream, and soon his body went limp.

“Camilsen! Sh-shit! What is this! What is this!”
“Push them back! Make a shield wall and push those women back!”
“The bug monsters are moving! Over here, over here… Ugh! Damn it, I missed. Be careful! They’re faster than you think!”
“Th-there! The other women’s bellies look like they’re about to burst!”

As if the previous bug monster was a signal, the women who had been charging stopped and their abdomens began to swell. Were they all going to burst out?

“Kill them! Kill them all! Attack! Don’t hesitate just because they’re women, kill them! Sandra! Focus your magic on those women!”
“Yurian? Are you kidding? Those women are still alive!”
“Get a grip, Irian! Don’t think of them as humans! They’re no different from monsters, so don’t have useless thoughts and be decisive.”
“B-but…”

What a foolish person. Glancing over, I saw Diana decisively cutting off the women’s breaths while protecting the head of the religious order. Cha Hyewon was a given, and Sandra was already burning half a dozen women with her magic… she was practically a witch. Anyway, there was no need to worry about that side.

“Irian. Don’t waver. Remember your priorities, what’s important to you.”
“What’s… important to me?”
“If it’s too complicated, just think of me! Think that I’m in danger and move. Got it?”
“Y-yes.”
“Am I in danger and you’re just standing there!? Move!”
“Y-yes!”

Slap, I smacked her butt, but she didn’t even have the mind to get angry. Hmm, that satisfying hand feel. Irian’s butt is the best.

“Kkyaaaak!”
“Captain! This is bullshit! The belly! Stab the belly!”
“Here, here, the belly is about to burst… Aaaah!”

The women’s bellies burst open, and scorpion-shaped monsters flew out in all directions. The mercenaries were flustered by the small bugs that were rushing towards their faces, but thankfully, Cha Hyewon, Irian, and Sandra were filling in the gaps and managing the situation.

“Yurian! Next to you!”
“Hmm?”

Just then, the swollen belly of a woman who had fallen nearby burst open, and a monster jumped towards my face in an instant.

The disgusting sight of sharp teeth wriggling through the gaping hole in the middle of its body, between its eight spread legs.

“Get lost.”

I gathered a mass of divine power in my fist and struck the monster’s body. It was fast, but it was flying in a straight line, so it wasn’t difficult to hit. It burst into pieces, scattering green liquid. I blocked the splashing fluids and fragments with a shield and looked around to see that they were gradually eliminating the monsters.

If that’s the case, I’ll leave the monsters to them… Where is the culprit who created this situation, and what is he doing?

“Oh, oh…! What a beautiful sight! More! Cry out more! Thrash about, creatures born from unknown terror! Ah, madness is calling me.”

He’s crazy. Completely and utterly crazy.
Like the madman he was, he was watching the chaotic situation and rejoicing. He was so happy, I should give him a gift of gratitude.

“Cha Hyewon!”

Cha Hyewon’s body, which had been waiting, repeatedly emitted bright light like a light bulb before disappearing. With the buffs that Diana and I were constantly giving her, she became a human light bulb, and each time she flickered, the divine power that was shot out accelerated even more, brushing past Alber Hamatan’s body in the blink of an eye.

“Cough.”

His face, which had been half-cut and was dangling, fell backward before stopping abruptly. A hand that had risen up grabbed the falling face and fixed it back on his neck. His eyes rolled around on his pale face, which had been stained with the blood that had spurted out, as he checked his condition.

“Oh dear. You startled me. As expected, a mage’s body is vulnerable to such ambushes.”

His throat was half-torn, and his vocal cords were damaged, causing a bizarre voice to come out, but he didn’t seem to care. Did he not feel any pain? He was the real monster.

“Disappointing. I gave you the opportunity to serve the unknown terror, but you kicked away such a good opportunity?”
“Unknown terror, my ass. Where is that unknown terror you love so much? Is it taking a nap or something?”
“……”

His red eyes, glaring at me, were quite eerie. As expected, the biggest blow to a fanatic is to insult the god they serve.

“Seriously. Wouldn’t the god you serve be annoyed with a god who only fails like you? You’re not a failure expert. Didn’t you run away last time when you were chasing me?”

As I was talking, a semi-transparent chat window appeared in front of me. A positive answer. Good. If I buy time for Diana, it’s my victory. That much is easy.

Cha Hyewon, who was heavily buffed, and the mercenaries and guards who had dealt with the monsters were forming a siege again, so even if a battle broke out, it didn’t seem like we would lose. But it wasn’t bad to mock him and waste time like this. If he moved first? I’d just pour out all the divine power I had built up.

When my attack started, ranged attacks, including Sandra’s, would be concentrated, and then the melee group would buy time. Perfect.

“Failure… failure…? Me?”
“……Hmm?”
“You still know nothing. That is the limit of a pitiful mortal.”

What was he talking about? The red smoke that was billowing from under his feet and engulfing his entire body was ominous.

“The reason I came here was to achieve my original purpose.”

…Original purpose? Alber Hamatan’s original purpose was clearly… to find the black-haired kid. And that black-haired kid was probably… no, definitely Karsilla.
Could it be?

“Have you finally realized? It’s too late.”
“You…! What did you do to our kid!”
“Not yet.”

His figure, enveloped in the increasingly dense red smoke, became blurry, and even the grating voice coming from his torn vocal cords began to sound increasingly bizarre.

“But soon.”
“Attack!”
“Worship the madness.”

* * *

“Papa?”

On the endless spiral staircase, a small head tilted, and the long hair tied on both sides swayed. No matter how much she turned her head, all she could see were narrow brick passages and stairs. Just in case, she looked out of the small window in the wall, but the outside was covered in white smoke, and she couldn’t see anything.

‘Clouds. Too many.’

Whenever she looked up at the sky, she wondered what it would be like to go up on the fluffy clouds, but the clouds she saw in front of her were not fluffy at all.

Karsilla was disappointed. It would have been nice if they were soft. Anyway, what was that just now? It sounded like Papa’s voice.

‘Hate. I hate everything. Leaving me behind.’

And leaving her in such a boring place and going off to play by themselves! Enraged, Karsilla clenched her fist tightly. Of course, that didn’t tear the hard leather cover of the book.

“What are you doing! Why aren’t you following me?”
“…Uuuu. It’s hard.”

Above all, that old man was annoying. Karsilla pouted at the white-haired old man who was scolding her.

“Hey! Don’t be lazy. Come up here quickly.”
“……”

Climbing the stairs made her legs hurt. Her arms, holding this thick book that seemed to have more destructive power than the knuckles she had hanging around her neck, also hurt. She didn’t want to study. She didn’t want to read. She wanted to see Papa.

Karsilla’s round eyes sparkled pitifully.

“Karsilla is a baby. Babies are tired.”
“What baby at that age! How dare you try to trick this great archmage! Tsk!”
“……”

Annoying.