Chapter 374: Boiling Silence (3)
Chapter 374: Boiling Silence (3)
“I cannot allow it. Everyone must be defiled, just like me…”
Ah, right.
There was no way an Apostle of an Evil God would be sane.
While I stood there dazed for a moment by words I never expected to hear from Carla’s mouth, her shout reached my ears.
“It’s dangerous, Master!”
“Huh?”
By the time I snapped back to my senses, a bundle of tentacles was already right in front of my nose.
Boom!!
I had reinforced my Shield just in case, so I managed to block it without issue, but the fact that I had been attacked by Carla was more of a shock.
I knew that that Carla wasn't this Carla… but it was still jarring. After all, they had the exact same face.
The gloom in those ruby eyes deepening and another pair of ruby eyes erupting in rage happened simultaneously.
“You! You fake! How dare you use my face to attack Master?!”
“So, Ugly Prosperity really is dead.”
The real Carla growled as she stepped in front of me. However, the other Carla merely sighed, as if it didn't matter.
Even if a god dies, their Authority remains. That was why she could maintain those tentacles… but her output had surely dropped.
Just in case, I decided to try persuading her one more time. Now that she knew Ugly Prosperity was dead, things might change.
“Yeah. I killed him. I don’t know how this happened, but if you’re the Carla I know, nothing is shackling you anymore. So…”
“I should tell you this, since you seem to be under a misunderstanding.”
Interrupting me, the other Carla tilted her head.
“I was never once forced to do anything by Ugly Prosperity.”
“…What?”
“Desiring revenge, killing people who had nothing to do with that revenge, wishing for everyone to fall to the same depths as me—it was all my own will. Ugly Prosperity simply gave me the power and the direction in which to wield it.”
“That’s…”
“To begin with, you—Yandel, was it? According to Boiling Silence, you should already know very well what kind of life I’ve lived.”
“……”
She was right. The Carla from the H&A scenario was already broken beyond repair. Ugly Prosperity had simply taken in that broken version of her.
I lost my words and just stared blankly into her eyes. From the depths of those sunken red orbs, I could feel waves of hatred and rage.
Her words made me realize it. Persuasion was impossible.
Just as I loathed cultists and had no intention of ever turning to the side of the Evil Gods, Carla’s flames would never be extinguished.
Not until she burned the world down, or burned herself out.
This Carla was a monster, just like any other cultist. No, she was far more severely insane than most.
It was only natural, considering she had awakened as an Apostle on a level similar to Fiona, whom Boiling Silence had spent a long time meticulously crafting.
So, I had to kill her. I had to, but…
I couldn't bring myself to move my mana.
A brief hesitation born from the fact that she shared Carla’s face. The others were likely hesitating for the same reason.
Except for one person. Carla herself.
“Burn! Prominence Flare!”
Without a shred of hesitation, Carla fired the most powerful magic she could muster.
A miniature sun brightly illuminated the cavern, and the blood covering the floor began to bubble and boil.
It was a level of power hard to believe for Intermediate Magic. However, the Carla facing that magic merely curled her lips into a crooked smirk and reached out a hand.
“Ah, magic. Something that was once my everything. It’s still beautiful… but that alone cannot kill me anymore.”
The tentacles behind her back wriggled and wrapped around the magic just before it exploded. Then came the sound of chewing.
Just as she had eaten Boiling Silence’s head, she had swallowed Carla’s magic.
I knew what that was from H&A. An Authority of the Energy Drain type, similar to a Succubus.
With her complexion looking much better than before, the Fake Carla let out a sneer.
“Thank you. For not killing me right away.”
She then clenched her outstretched hand and brought it to her chest. Simultaneously, black filth erupted from her center.
Enveloped by the divine power of Boiling Silence she must have just absorbed, she continued.
“Thanks to you, I’ll be able to escape safely. As a token of my gratitude, I’ll kill you without pain the next time we meet.”
“W-Wait!”
I hurriedly channeled my mana, but it was already too late. The bubbling filth covered her and then sank into the floor in an instant, as if melting her entire body.
All that remained was a handful of black puddles. But even those evaporated in the blink of an eye.
She must have used the power gained from absorbing Boiling Silence’s head to flee the scene.
“……”
“……”
“……”
Silence descended upon the cavern. While no one could easily open their mouths, a bell sound that only I could hear rang out.
Ding!
An alert that I had defeated Boiling Silence. It was the reward I had wanted so badly, but right now, it felt like it didn't matter.
“What the hell is going on…”
Because I couldn't understand the current situation at all.
*
First, we left the cave and teleported to the nearest village.
Only after renting a suitable inn room and setting up a soundproofing barrier did I finally speak.
“…Let’s sort this out.”
“Sort what out? Boiling Silence and Ugly Prosperity must have joined forces to create a fake version of me!”
Carla was still huffing, her anger yet to subside. I gave her a light pat to calm her down and nodded.
“That’s probably it. As for how they made that Carla…”
“Master. Please don’t call that fake by my name. I’m not a crazy bitch like that.”
“Oh? Uh, right… Let’s call her Fake Carla then.”
Only then did Carla slowly steady her breathing. I guess she couldn't accept that the other woman was also 'Carla.'
I gave a bitter smile and continued.
“Anyway, I just thought of something. I have a hunch about how they made Fake Carla.”
“…How, Master?”
As if apologizing for raising her voice earlier, Carla subtly rubbed against me. I tapped her back to show it was okay.
“That small cocoon was likely the price Boiling Silence paid for helping Ugly Prosperity.”
“The price?”
“Yeah.”
If they had planned to make Fake Carla together from the start, Ugly Prosperity would have given me some kind of hint.
But he showed no such reaction until the moment he died.
So, it’s highly likely that Boiling Silence didn't tell him the details and simply asked him to create a clone of Carla as payment for his help.
“Besides, our party was the one leading the fight in the war against Ugly Prosperity, right? There would have been plenty of opportunities to obtain something like a strand of your hair.”
“Yes. But what does… Wait. Are you saying Ugly Prosperity copied my body using my hair, Master? Even so, with just hair…”
“He might have gotten blood instead of hair. It was a battlefield, so there were many ways. The point is, it’s not impossible. I’m a similar existence myself, aren't I?”
“Ah…”
My body was crafted by Fafnir using his own. But before that, it was said he even tried to clone himself.
Though he failed because he couldn't properly form a self-consciousness.
“With Ugly Prosperity’s Authority, creating a body isn't impossible. The problem is the spirit that dwells within it.”
“…And you think Boiling Silence intervened there.”
“T-That’s right! Come to think of it, Master, you seemed to know that fake’s identity.”
“Strictly speaking, she’s not a fake. He just brought forth a version of a future that might have been.”
“I… become a crazy bitch like that?”
Carla’s eyes went wide in disbelief.
Until now, I had only roughly explained the future I saw through H&A. But I think I need to tell her in more detail now.
Blah, blah, platypus, blah.
I explained everything about the Carla who became the Apostle of the Evil God as detailed as possible.
Carla, who had been listening with her mouth shut tight, nodded reluctantly but firmly.
“I see. So that’s how it is. Without meeting you, Master, I would have fallen that far. I can understand why I’d go mad and join hands with an Evil God. …Though I still can’t forgive her for using my face to attack you.”
Carla muttered, pouting her lips.
Is that the part you're worried about…
I let out a hollow laugh and nodded.
“Don’t worry. You won’t need to forgive her.”
“Huh? What do you mean, Master?”
“Just as I gained knowledge of the future, Boiling Silence probably transplanted memories of the future into that cloned body. Even if a god dies, their Authority remains, so the cocoon would have been fine even after Ugly Prosperity vanished. Of course, Boiling Silence would have had to take over the severed supply of divine power.”
Boiling Silence was certain that I knew the future. In other words, he realized that no matter what he did, it would be difficult to overturn a situation that had already deteriorated to the extreme.
That was why he chose Fake Carla as his gambit, using the divine power squeezed from all his remaining believers and monsters.
It was certainly effective. In fact, when I faced Fake Carla, I was so shaken that I couldn't even respond properly.
“…But I won’t hesitate next time we meet.”
I would make sure to end her life. As I made that vow with conviction, Elisha, who was beside me, gave a small smirk and chimed in.
“Oh? I certainly hope so. If you seem to hesitate even a little, I’ll just kill her myself.”
“…Elisha? Why are you looking at me while saying that?”
“I wonder? Why indeed, Carla?”
“You know it’s the fake you have to kill, not me, right?!”
The two bickered with exaggerated energy, as if trying to lift the heavy atmosphere. Iona, who had been watching them with an amused smile, asked.
“But, but. If we know Fake Carla’s identity, can’t we predict where she’ll go next or where we’ll meet her?”
“I have a few ideas. The most likely scenario is that she’ll become an Apostle for another Evil God and we’ll meet her on the front lines.”
“…She was an Apostle of Ugly Prosperity, but she can become an Apostle for another Evil God?”
“As I said before, she was already insane to begin with. There might be some efficiency issues, but… for Evil Gods who haven't found a proper Apostle, that won't matter much.”
That was probably why she confidently said she’d kill me without pain next time.
A proper Apostle possesses power rivaling an Archmage, and Fake Carla happens to be an Apostle with prior experience.
“I-Isn't that dangerous, Junior?! I feel like we should go after her right now and do something before she meets another Evil God!”
“I’d love to do that too, Senior Fay, but we have no way to track her. If it were a simple teleport, I could trace the mana residue to see where she flew… but unfortunately, she used divine power extracted from Boiling Silence’s corpse, making tracking impossible.”
“Then what do we do?! Are we just supposed to sit back and wait for her to come back stronger?”
“Of course not. Did you forget our original plan?”
“Eh…?”
Fay blinked blankly, as if she really had forgotten. I chuckled at her dazed expression and pointed toward the beds.
“For now, let’s get some deep sleep. And then, early tomorrow morning, we hit the dungeon.”
If the enemy is preparing to level up, we just need to get even stronger in the meantime.