Chapter 251
Chapter: 251
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>Translator: penny
>Chapter: 251
>Chapter Title: Soulstone (5)
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[Please, human! Take me to the Lord right away!]
>Boom!
>The incorporeal soul knelt, and for a moment, the room seemed to shake. That was how intense and overwhelming the spiritual pressure emanating from Bazra was.
Seongjin stared quietly at the massive Lycanslope bowing its head before him and asked,
"...But you're already dead, aren't you? What are you planning to do by going to Louise's side?"
[Thanks to you, I have been reborn as a new soul. This is my chance to serve the Lord once more! If he is truly a descendant of Nebraska, a true Lycanslope, he will naturally know how to use my soulstone!]
"Hmm."
[So please, help me live for him!]
With every word Bazra shouted, fierce spiritual pressure swirled toward Seongjin. It was a sign of how deeply its emotions ran.
From Seongjin's perspective, however, it was pitiful yet annoyingly troublesome. He wanted nothing more than to dump it on Louise immediately.
"But that kid headed to the Demonic Wasteland a long time ago. She's probably deep inside by now. How am I supposed to find her and deliver your soulstone?"
[The Demonic Wasteland? Why?]
"You already forgot? Louise said she'd help you all. She left for the [Flower Garden] to find the source of that flower scent that's clouding the Lycanslopes' minds."
[The Flower Garden...!]
Bazra's eyes widened in shock.
It had thought it would finally meet its calmed Lord, but ironically, the desperate plea it had made to Seongjin and Louise in life was now getting in the way!
-Please destroy the [Flower Garden] of those flowers deep in the Demonic Wasteland. Otherwise, the future of our kin...
Ah, recalling its own words, Bazra closed its eyes and sighed.
[The Lord has truly gone there to save our kin!]
Woooooong—
As Bazra's soul trembled violently, the crimson energy filling the room resonated with it.
Guilt, sorrow, gratitude, joy. All these intense emotions swirled together, thickening the air in the room in an instant.
[To rise for the salvation of our pitiful kin! At last, to take revenge on the profane priests of the Demonic Wasteland!]
Blood tears suddenly streamed from the distorted eyes of the Lycanslope, overwhelmed by all these emotions.
Drip, drip.
'Gah!'
At this scene from yet another horror movie, Seongjin broke out in cold sweat and took a step back.
Unlike Hayes' evil spirit, he'd thought it had a remarkably detached attitude, but apparently, it had simply given up on everything until now.
Why were all souls like this? No middle ground, none at all!
'Should I just unsummon it right now?'
While Seongjin wrestled with serious inner conflict, fortunately, Bazra began to calm down bit by bit. The fur that had bristled wildly settled down, and its twisted face returned to normal.
The blood tears streaming from its eyes persisted, of course.
[It's truly fortunate that the Lord is a half-blood. No pure-blooded Lycanslope can maintain their sanity even briefly in a place overrun by those ominous blue flowers.]
"Then Louise is safe there too?"
Bazra shook its head gravely.
[Not entirely, human. As long as Lycanslope blood flows in their veins, they cannot completely escape the flowers' influence. Prolonged exposure to that scent will surely cause problems for the half-blood Lord as well.]
What? Then that's a big problem.
[That's why I must help her! I, who am truly free from the flowers after the death of my body, must be by her side!]
Bazra looked up at Seongjin with pitiful eyes. They were just like Max's when begging for a snack, making it hard to look away.
"...Believe it or not, I'm a fairly high-ranking person in Delcross. I can't just sneak off to the Demonic Wasteland on my own."
Aura concealment only worked for short distances. And this was the heart of the Demonic Wasteland?
On top of that, Logan was here. Seongjin's aura concealment had improved leaps and bounds recently, but he had no confidence in completely evading the eyes of the continent's youngest Sword Master.
"If I insisted on going, they'd probably assemble a massive search party with vague objectives. The Sigismund Territory wouldn't just sit idly by. And if they happened to run into any surviving Lycanslopes on the way to the Flower Garden, your remaining kin would be cleanly exterminated."
That was reality.
Moreover, even if they somehow reached the [Flower Garden], he had a strong premonition that he wouldn't meet Louise.
'And now I really just want to go home.'
Seongjin thought blankly.
He'd gotten souvenirs, resolved the herbal tea issue with the Margrave amicably, and now he didn't want to get dragged into anything else.
[No way...! Is there truly no other method? Ugh! Sob!]
Then blood tears began pouring from Bazra's eyes like a waterfall. Good thing it was a soul without form; otherwise, the room would have been flooded with blood by now.
The crimson energy pooled on the floor churned as if mirroring its sorrow.
'...This is exactly why I hate this stuff!'
No, who would want this? He just wanted to pass these haunted things off to someone else ASAP!
Woof!
At that moment, seeing Seongjin recoil in disgust, Max jumped in front, barking loudly at Bazra.
[...Hm?]
The startled Lycanslope stopped its weeping and looked down at the dog with dazed eyes.
"Max?"
Woof woof woof!
It was a wolfhound larger than an ordinary dog, but in front of the 4-meter-tall Bazra, it was barely the size of a handful.
Even so, Max's attitude was utterly fearless. If Bazra weren't a soul, it would have charged and sunk its teeth in by now.
Grrrrr—
I'm strong! I'm huge!
Bazra flinched and asked Seongjin,
[Wait, human! This wolf—is it perhaps an Ionia wolf?]
"Huh? No, this is my dog, not a wolf."
[A dog? Impossible! I can clearly feel some indescribable bond between that dog and me! A sticky connection like that between kin!]
Now it was Seongjin's turn to growl at it.
"What? Are you coveting my familiar dog now?"
[No, that's not what I mean, human! Don't misunderstand!]
Seeing Seongjin's ominous shift in demeanor, Bazra quickly waved its hands.
[I'm just talking about that wolf's bloodline! It means a deep connection between species, passed down through generations, just like with Ionia wolves!]
"......"
[If I must explain, it goes back to the Mythic Age. Originally, Ionia wolves have long been the faithful companions and kin of Lycanslopes. You, as a human, couldn't even imagine the infinite potential they possess.]
Potential... It reminded him of Max when Louise controlled him. Was it referring to becoming massive by merging with a familiar?
-Yes, it carries the blood of Ionia wolves. Though a clumsy mongrel, it's a bloodline that's now rare in this dimension.
Come to think of it, Bersus in the ice canyon had said something about Max's Ionia wolf bloodline too.
'That bastard coveted my dog as well!'
Where was it from again? The lord of the Dasiano Territory? If they met again, he'd grind its bones to dust this time!
As he belatedly fumed inwardly, Bazra's face suddenly lit up brightly.
[Aah, everything is resolved! Entrust my soulstone to this dog! It will surely take me to where the Lord is!]
"What...?"
Seongjin blinked.
"Wait, what are you saying? What do you want our Max to do?"
Send this little pup alone to the Demonic Wasteland crawling with glacier trolls and Lycanslopes? By itself?
"Have you lost your mind? No way!"
When Seongjin refused flatly, Bazra pounded its chest in frustration.
[That's what I've been saying—you humans don't know this wolf's true power! It's just a simple errand; there won't be any problems!]
As Seongjin was about to snap again, Max barked energetically as if waiting for its cue.
Woof!
"......?"
Glancing skeptically at Max, Seongjin saw the dog wagging its tail furiously at him, barking confidently.
Woof woof!
"No, but Max is just an ordinary wolfhound..."
Woof!
I can do it! I'm strong and huge!
"I'm telling you, you can't transform right now..."
Max, your dad here is firmly refusing this inappropriate request, so don't go throwing me under the bus like this.
But it was getting hard to ignore Max's sparkling eyes staring up at him.
"Ugh..."
Maybe because it's a puppy. Why is the kid so immature?
After rubbing his forehead for a while, Seongjin reluctantly picked up Nebraska's amulet. Well, he didn't have a bad feeling about it, and Max had fetched Louise's shoe before.
"I just hope the soulstone doesn't end up in Max's stomach and gets delivered properly."
[Aah, thank you! Truly, thank you!]
Woof woof woof!
...Shut up, you two.
"Oh, right!"
Before extracting the soulstone from the amulet, Seongjin asked Bazra one last thing.
"Come to think of it, I've been curious about something. Who exactly is this demon you mentioned?"
Bazra had definitely said this in the ice canyon:
-Are you trying to destroy that demon's [Flower Garden]! To become the last hope for our kin lost in delusion!
The blue flowers self-propagating in the Demonic Wasteland had exploded in number, right? The term [Flower Garden] implied someone was deliberately cultivating them there.
Bazra replied with a dark expression.
[I don't know its true identity well. I only vaguely remember it making contact with Bersus, the priest of the Demonic Wasteland, several times.]
Seongjin nodded, but he struggled to keep his expression neutral at the next words.
[Bersus seemed to call it the 'Puppeteer.']
"......!"
* * *
That night, Logan and Masain, having finished their late work, visited Seongjin's room.
"It seems the Margrave is avoiding me after all."
Logan said in a voice laced with concern.
"Isn't it just coincidence?"
"No, Brother Masain. Sir Vincent has retired from the front lines, so that's understandable, but it's strange that even after continuously participating in the sweeps, it's this hard to even see the Margrave's face."
It was understandable. Hendrick Margrave had previously refused to let Logan stay in the territory upon his return from a subjugation.
The fact that he'd clearly been helped, plus his connection to Seongjin, prevented him from brushing him off so easily this time. Instead, he seemed to be personally avoiding Logan.
"Why does he find me so uncomfortable?"
Yeah, why? Seongjin thought the herbal tea issue had been roughly settled, but was there more?
As Seongjin pondered, Logan said,
"Well, we still have plenty of time to figure it out. The Lirium detachment will arrive soon."
Dispatched officially from the capital under the pretext of aiding Sigismund Territory, the Margrave couldn't do much about them staying for a while.
"Why didn't you come with them?"
"They must be riding as fast as they can. I was simply faster."
Seongjin realized anew just how absurd Logan's feat was.
Hadn't it taken his own group over half a month to reach Sigismund Territory? Even setting aside the demon tree subjugation midway.
Staring blankly at Logan, Seongjin saw him flash a proud smile.
"Now you finally appreciate this brother's greatness?"
"What are you on about? Cut the nonsense, little bro."
As Seongjin furrowed his brow in response, Masain made a face like 'here they go again' from the side.
"Anyway, once the detachment arrives, let's pack up and leave without hesitation. No more time to waste. Time to head home."
"......"
But there was no retort from Logan, who Seongjin expected to whine about being the older brother.
"What's up?"
When Seongjin asked puzzledly, light returned to Logan's eyes, which had been staring blankly at him. His face was as if he'd just realized something.
"Home..."
Yeah, home.
When Seongjin replied sullenly, Logan finally curved the corners of his mouth slightly. It was a very cautious smile, but one that looked immensely relieved.
"I see. We have to go home. Sister and Sisley are probably waiting anxiously by now."