Chapter 30
Chapter: 30
-----------------------------------------------------------------
>Translator: penny
>Chapter: 030
>Chapter Title: The Black Prophets (5)
>-----------------------------------------------------------------
‘X is done for...’
That was the first thought that flashed through Jonathan McAlpin’s mind the moment he laid eyes on [it].
Just three days ago, the last time he’d seen it, [it] had been nothing more than a black lump the size of a person. Something that wriggled when touched and occasionally let out a grotesque moan like “Kueeek.”
But now? It had swollen to occupy more than a third of the room. In just a few days, it had ballooned over six times its size. [Its] surface now rippled black like the choppy waters of a stormy lake.
Not only that, but tentacles or roots—no one could tell which—had sprouted from [it], weaving a dense spiderweb throughout the room. Strange, glowing moss that hadn’t been there before now spread a vivid blue, blanketing the area.
Something was wrong. Terribly wrong. What the hell had happened here over the past three days?
Jonathan wasn’t the only one shocked. The other prophets seemed equally stunned by the unfamiliar sight, their faces pale as they glanced around in panic.
Only Kenneth Digory, the man responsible for this surreal scene, gazed at them with a serene smile.
‘We never should have set foot in this place from the start...’
Jonathan broke out in cold sweat and backed away, but Prince Mores brushed past him and strode toward Kenneth.
“Bantra larva. Good thing you haven’t opened the channel yet.”
He was calmer than expected. His face was slightly tense, but Jonathan thought it looked more like mild anger than outright nervousness. Maybe it was the sharper glare from his thinned features.
Prince Mores.
The disgrace of the Holy Imperial family, Delcross’s greatest wastrel.
Compared to their last meeting two months ago, the prince now looked like an entirely different person. At first, even Jonathan had doubted if it was really him.
The change wasn’t just skin-deep. The man who used to fuss and seek Jonathan out was now silently scanning the entire room with his eyes.
When his gray gaze finally met Kenneth’s again, it held not fear or shock, but pure curiosity.
“Why is a monster from Gehenna here?”
Aha ha ha. Kenneth burst into loud, joyous laughter.
“You know what this is? Just as the Sage said! He told me the prince would be the one to share our mystery. Bringing you here was indeed the right choice!”
“The Sage?”
“Yes, Your Highness will meet him soon enough.”
With that, Kenneth slowly began walking toward [it]. The root-like things tangled on the floor writhed violently under his feet, like earthworms.
“Brothers, chosen prophets. There is nothing to fear! This is merely proof that our mystery draws ever closer to the moment of truth.”
Kenneth turned to face the prophets after approaching within arm’s reach of [it].
“Everything is unfolding just as the Sage foretold.”
His resolute face brimmed with unprecedented conviction, making Jonathan momentarily doubt if he was overreacting.
Sure enough, the members who had been peeking around uncertainly visibly relaxed.
“Everything is unfolding just as the Sage foretold.”
“Everything is unfolding just as the Sage foretold.”
Ha ha ha ha.
Booming laughter echoed through the vast space.
“How fortunate, Your Highness! To stand with us prophets at the very moment the mystery of this world unveils itself.”
Kenneth’s eyes gleamed with the fervor of a zealot.
Ah, everything’s gone mad. Jonathan thought as he slumped to the floor.
The roots of the bizarre lifeform twitched more violently. The prophets’ eerie fervor mixed anxiety with anticipation of whatever was to come.
Only young Prince Mores remained composed at the center of the chaos.
He spoke to Kenneth in a cold tone.
“Did this Sage tell you that three people would suffice to open something?”
Kenneth flinched and turned to the prince. A savage expression briefly crossed his neat features, but the prince continued undeterred.
“It’s not whatever mystery you’re babbling about. What opens is a channel. Coordinates to link that thing’s consciousness to the community. A signal to summon the other Bantras here.”
“…What?”
“Are you trying to destroy Delcross, not reform it?”
Kenneth Digory’s face twisted horrifically in an instant.
“What nonsense is this!”
“I’m saying that Sage deceived you.”
“Lies! Such lies…!”
Trembling with rage, Kenneth unleashed a tirade at the prince. The once-promising academy prodigy now looked like a raving madman who had lost all reason.
“You dare deny this world’s mystery? Are you in league with those hypocritical priests? We never should have brought you here! In the end, you’re just another filthy Holy Imperial bloodline!”
Yet even faced with this fury directed straight at him, the prince’s gaze didn’t waver.
“Then answer me, Kenneth.”
Jonathan realized for the first time that human eyes could gleam colder than a sharpened blade.
“Did you really feed people to that thing?”
What?
Jonathan’s mind went blank at the unbelievable claim.
People? What?
Then, like cold water seeping in, reason returned, and his brain began to piece it together.
Had that unchanging black lump in the basement really grown so massively in days without any cost?
Come to think of it, where was the servant who always guarded the door on visits?
Why hadn’t the maid who cleaned the meeting room and brought tea appeared today?
The savage distortion on Kenneth Digory’s face ebbed away like the tide. Jonathan read the answer he wished he hadn’t.
“…You mad bastard!”
One prophet threw back his hood and shouted at Kenneth. It was Ashleigh Becher, the junior who had co-founded the Black Prophets with him.
“You fed people to that thing? Are you insane, Senior?”
“…What?”
Kenneth’s expressionless face turned only his eyes to glare at Ashleigh. It looked like a bomb on the verge of explosion, sending chills down Jonathan’s spine unbidden. But the passionate junior, who always voiced her opinions fervently, pressed on undaunted.
“How can you claim that unknown thing is the mystery we seek? It’s just the Sage’s word! And you fed it people? Is that true?”
“…….”
“Snap out of it, Senior Kenneth! I’ve always said that Sage was suspicious!”
Ashleigh stepping right up to Kenneth and him grabbing her black robe by the collar happened almost simultaneously.
“…Gah!”
Smiling gently at his struggling junior, Kenneth Digory said,
“If you had so many doubts, why not speak up sooner, Ashleigh? No helping it. You’ll be the first to partake in the mystery.”
“…What?!”
Ashleigh’s face drained of color. She’d instinctively realized what he intended.
Sure enough, he began dragging her by the collar toward the ominous lump.
“Three people. He said three lives to open the door to truth.”
“W-Wait…!”
“No need to refuse. Become the final key to complete this great moment, as a proud prophet.”
Jonathan ground his teeth watching Ashleigh flail helplessly as she was dragged away.
The thing had grown enormously in days. No telling what it would become after one more meal.
I have to stop this… But my legs won’t move.
That was when Prince Mores spoke.
“Sorry, but…”
Shing. A finely honed sword slid from beneath his black robe.
“No matter what you do, that channel won’t open.”
Jonathan glanced at his face and lost his words.
The prince was baring his teeth in a grin.
A light breeze stirred at the tip of his raised sword, then he kicked off the ground.
* * *
Boom—
A faint vibration shook the old mansion. Masain and Kurt, bored in the corridor, jumped to their feet in alarm.
Boom—
Another tremor rippled through the floor. Dust sifted down from the ceiling.
“…Feels like it’s coming from underground?”
An earthquake? Uncommon in Delcross, but they shoved past the protesting servant and raced toward the banquet hall. They had to evacuate the prince just in case.
“Your Highness!”
But the hall was empty. Masain’s face twisted upon spotting the secret stairs to the basement in the corner.
“No way…”
Boom—
Another rumble. The epicenter was right below the mansion.
Exchanging glances, the two dashed down the stairs without a word.
Kueeeeeek!
After stabbing the Bantra larva a few times, it writhed madly, emitting a vomit-like screech. A mystery how a thing without proper vocal organs could make that noise.
Its rubbery hide kept the sword from penetrating deeply, yet it thrashed as if dying. Fine dust trickled from the sturdy stone walls.
Leaving the wriggling beast, Seongjin dragged Kenneth Digory’s limp robed form.
This guy okay? Forgot about the aura flowing through him and whacked his head full force—crack, felt like bad news.
“Hey, stop spacing out and get over here.”
He called to the dazed prophet slumped on the floor.
Still in shock from nearly becoming larva chow, but hurry up. If the freaking-out larva accidentally swallowed him, that’d be trouble. It could open the channel while pupating.
The other prophets had already fled toward the passage.
The quick-witted prophet staggered up at Seongjin’s gesture and rushed to support his comrade—though he froze in terror upon stepping on a wriggling tentacle.
“It’s fine. Just feelers or roots. Not dangerous yet.”
Visibly relieved, he cautiously navigated the roots and began dragging the prophet out.
Well, the moment it pupates, those become monster tentacles that ensnare and kill anything moving—but telling him that now would backfire.
Fortunately, the sharp prophet recovered and walked on his own soon enough. Together, they hauled Kenneth Digory out of the stone chamber.
“Take him up and fetch my guards.”
Jonathan stared at Seongjin in shock.
“Pardon? What about you, Your Highness?”
“I need to deal with that thing first.”
Jonathan’s face lit up with profound emotion at Seongjin’s reply.
No, not that. Not what you’re thinking.
He could wait for Sir Masain and Sir Kurt, but Seongjin decided to act first.
He’d blocked the final nutrient for pupation, but the larva might still force an incomplete metamorphosis and open the channel.
Above all, Hunter Seongjin had never left a live, wriggling monster alone.
As Jonathan and the prophet supported Kenneth Digory from both sides, Seongjin gripped his sword and headed back into the chamber.
“Uh, Senior Kenneth’s nose is gushing blood.”
“Didn’t he get hit on the back of the head? Or why nosebleed with me right here?”
“Maybe brain damage…”
This place is dangerous. Get out now, you idiots!