Chapter 270: The Scent of Death
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 270: The Scent of Death
I monitored the Spanya Estate for a while, borrowing the vision of an ultra-miniaturized, compressed Evil Eye. The place wasn't as small as I expected; the village population seemed to be around six hundred.
While the private houses weren't completely devoid of food stockpiles, surviving two years of consecutive crop failures would have been difficult regardless.
"So, Rubica is here."
"How is she?! Can you see my sister?!"
"She’s locked in what looks like a warehouse. They are feeding her, at least."
"S-she’s alive, then?!"
Fortunately, yes. However, she didn't look to be in great shape. She was quite gaunt, as if they were giving her just enough food to keep her from starving.
Considering Rubica’s usual appetite as I knew it, this was practically a capital offense.
Actually, kidnapping and confinement were already major crimes to begin with.
"Rubia, what should we do?"
"W-what about my father...? How is he...?"
I had never seen the Spanya Family Head before, but I began searching for someone who matched the description Rubia had given me. Since he was the head of the family, he would likely be in the lord’s castle, unless his concubine had completely lost her mind.
I had heard he was bedridden, so finding someone fitting that description should have been easy.
"Hmm... the situation doesn't look good."
"Why?! Why?! Did something happen?!"
"Uh, well."
There was a large room on the top floor of the lord’s castle. I eventually found a man who appeared to be Rubia’s father, but he wasn't lying in bed. He looked to be in his late fifties, with blonde hair and golden eyes, and he was indeed in what looked like the Family Head’s chambers.
He looks like he’s on drugs.
His eyes were bloodshot, his hair was a disheveled mess, and his shirt was torn to shreds. But above all, the biggest problem was this:
Is he... eating a person?
Several corpses, appearing to be estate residents, were strewn across the Family Head’s room. They were covered in jagged, torn wounds and lay in pools of thick blood. Given the blood smeared all over the Family Head’s mouth and hands, the only logical conclusion was that he had been feasting on the bodies.
"For now, Rubia, let’s talk to Delbaheim and head to the estate for a bit. It’s not like we have much to do lately anyway."
"W-will it be okay...?"
After the Antonio Brotherhood was completely dismantled, localized crimes still occurred, but the overall rate had dropped significantly compared to before.
A large number of explorers had flocked here after hearing the rumors, and while a few bad apples had entered Calax, it was manageable.
The Mayerbridge Union was the antithesis of the Antonio Brotherhood, not a police force dedicated to eradicating all crime. So, things were relatively quiet these days.
"Just go get permission first. If they say no, I’ll just go alone."
"Ugh...! Fine! Just wait a second!"
*
"Don't worry, we'll only be gone for a day or two, Sera."
"You're leaving again? You are resting, right...?"
"Of course. Yura, listen to your mother while I'm gone. Got it?"
"Yes."
"Aww, look at you answering so well. Who do you take after to be this cute?"
In the end, Rubia got permission. The Mayerbridge Union wasn't that restrictive of a clan, and since she had family matters to attend to, they let her go without issue.
"There’s no gateway in the Spanya Estate?"
"Does that even make sense?! Do you think it's easy to own a gateway in your own territory?!"
Unfortunately, there was no way to go directly to the estate via gateway. The best option was to arrive at the nearest gateway and head to the estate from there.
"Even so, it’s still a hundred kilometers away."
A hundred kilometers wasn't actually that bad. It was a distance I could cover in no time... but the biggest problem was that I wasn't alone.
"Are you fully prepared for combat?"
"Yes, of course."
Rubia, dressed smartly in her Battle Attire, clenched her fists with a look of grim determination. I doubted she’d actually have to step up, but since it was her family’s business, she was clearly overflowing with motivation.
It would be easier if I just ate her.
Rather than putting a strain on Rubia’s body with high-speed movement, the most efficient method would be to swallow her, head to the Spanya Estate, and then spit her out. That was the logical choice if I set aside emotions and focused only on efficiency, but I dismissed the idea because she’d probably be terrified.
—Vrrrrm....
We departed for the gateway of a city called 'Meitis,' a name I had never heard before. Apparently, it was a labyrinth city with a 44-floor labyrinth that first appeared thirty-five years ago. Even the two-hundred-year-old Calax was considered young compared to other Great Labyrinths, so thirty-five years was practically nothing.
"Commencing teleportation. Please be prepared for dizziness!"
—Flash!
*
Misiri Spanya, the concubine of the Spanya family and currently the most powerful woman in the estate, was anxious.
—Tick, tick, tick.
A strange voice echoed periodically in her head. It was a voice she had never heard before. It was so gloomy and unpleasant that she wasn't even sure if it belonged to a human.
At first, she thought she could just ignore it, thinking it was just exhaustion. But no matter how much she slept or what healthy foods she ate, nothing changed.
She had paid a high price for a mage to lift the curse, but there was no sign of improvement. The voice continued to speak to her, as if stimulating the deepest impulses within her heart.
:: Take the flesh ::
"Please, stop—!!!"
—Crash!
She had a hobby of collecting teacups. The shelves of the cabinet holding her various collections collapsed, and the cups she had gathered over the years shattered across the floor.
Lately, she couldn't even tell others that she was hearing these voices. It felt as though her throat was constantly being constricted; the moment she tried to voice her troubles, she couldn't breathe, and only a wheezing sound would escape.
"J-just one... just one more...! Someone, come here—!!"
The voice in her head seemed to quiet down somewhat if she consumed human flesh. Misiri Spanya forgot her previous thoughts of stopping and called for the maid waiting outside to give her an order.
"The estate is full of corpses, is it not?! Go and fetch one!"
"Yes, my lady."
Ordinary people without mental defenses could not resist the sinister energy radiating from her body. It was no different for trained knights; they simply became her tools, possessing even greater martial force.
"This... this is the last time... the last time...."
Misiri Spanya lay on her bed, her legs trembling as she wiped her face. The Family Head, who had once been her lover, had followed the voice in his head and become a man-eating monster just like her.
She had only been told to sleep with him, so why did he have to become a monster that devoured people?
"No, no... it can surely be fixed...! If only I had a slightly more powerful mage...!"
She had locked away the daughter born to the Family Head’s legal wife in a place where she wouldn't be seen. It was out of fear—fear of what she might do next.
The girl had been gone for two years, so Misiri thought she wouldn't return even if a letter was sent. She never imagined that the act of leaving a piece of stationery by her bedside for a night before sending it would be a sort of magical ritual.
In the end, Rubica Spanya had also fallen under the spell upon receiving the letter and had returned to the estate.
It went without saying, but she was even more protective of her own biological son. She was relieved that the voice in her head hadn't tried to harm her son yet. But surely, this voice would eventually turn her son into a monster as well.
"I have brought the body."
"Leave it! A-and get out of here! Now!"
"Yes, my lady."
Even as they witnessed her in this state, those exposed to her mana felt nothing strange. It was a stroke of luck that her son’s mind remained untainted, thanks to the talisman that was a treasure of the Spanya family.
—Crunch....
The sound of the dagger in her hand piercing the skin of an nameless resident and severing muscle fibers echoed in the room. She, a woman of noble birth who had never seen blood other than her own menses, had fallen so far as to become a monster that scavenged on corpses.
—Chomp...!
"Ugh...!!"
The sensation of chewing the flesh was horrific, yet the taste was sublime. She felt disgusted by herself for finding the taste of human flesh noble and felt like gagging, but she couldn't stop tearing at the corpse.
Before she knew it, Misiri Spanya was staring at the disemboweled corpse, feeling an even greater thirst. Beyond the wide, high windows, she could see delicious lumps of meat walking around the estate.
—Grind....
"No!! Stop—!!!!"
She violently pulled the curtains shut to block out the view, threw the dagger onto the table, and collapsed onto the bed.
Burying her face in the blankets, she screamed in agony.
—Thud!!
A loud noise erupted from outside, but it was drowned out by her own frantic cries.
*
"W-what happened to everyone?!"
I had flown here at sonic speed with Rubia tucked into a cockpit-like seat. I had miscalculated one thing: Rubia was actually a powerful Cobalt-grade explorer.
She was someone who could easily withstand this level of speed even without gravity adaptation training.
And so, the Spanya Estate we arrived at was exactly as I sensed.
I can feel the mana.
It was a place that reeked of death.