Chapter 147
Chapter 147
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 147
Chapter Title: Underground Temple (2)
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Plague victims turn black in their fingers and toes, their flesh sloughing away until only skin remains, then they vanish.
Not dying, but "disappearing."
Now I get it.
Why no bodies are left behind. Why the plague victims just vanish.
-Keekhaak...!
-Keek...!
These "rat humans" packing the prison cells with no room to step are the ones who "disappeared."
How do I know?
"...Monsters wouldn't be wearing necklaces or rings."
Some of the rat humans still wore jewelry—necklaces, rings, bracelets, earrings. Their clothes had sloughed off with their flesh, but the metal ornaments remained intact.
"Horrifying."
Like rats instinctively seeking their burrows, the plague victims, enduring high fevers and mutations, must have instinctively come to this underground temple. The "rat humans" were then captured and locked away here.
What comes next is obvious. Like the chimeras in the deep sea dungeon, these rat humans would undergo several modifications, losing their egos entirely and becoming obedient chimeras to their master.
The rat humans imprisoned here haven't been fully modified yet. Their bodies have mutated, and they don't seem in their right minds, but they're just locked up, showing no aggression.
Of course, even without aggression, their numbers are overwhelming. Over the past month, a huge number of people caught the plague, so it's no surprise.
"...There's still time."
Unlike the chimeras from the deep sea dungeon, whose origins are unknown, these haven't been fully altered. If I lift the curse as quickly as possible, they might return to human form, even if not perfectly.
"But how the hell do we get them all back to the surface?"
We don't know who the enemy is, how many there are, or how strong they are—and we're just four people.
Until recently, the Donar Temple was our backup, but with its high priests already corrupted, that's useless now.
We could call on Legion for help, but I don't want to expose the still young and fragile Legion to the world's attention. It would definitely put Legion in danger.
"In the end, no choice but to go with that..."
I glanced at Connie, gauging his reaction.
He's already turned his back on the temple, so he should overlook one of my little "secrets," right?
"...Kusukusu."
It's been a while since I last called that name.
Not its true name, so even if Connie witnesses Dimakushel, there's not much he can do.
-Slither...
-Hiss...
The shadows faintly spread under the sea glowstone's light began gathering toward my shadow. No—my shadow was devouring the darkness. Swallowing the condensed shadows, it grew far larger than normal, slowly revealing its true form.
"Ah, ah, ah! A summoning after so long!"
"Yeah, yeah. Recovered fully?"
Dimakushel, greatly affected by the mana waves from the Silver Mountains, had been very quiet lately. So it must have had plenty of time to recover. I shrugged at the grinning shadow baring its teeth. Yeah, of course it had. What a dumb question.
"Wh-what is this...!"
As expected, Connie startled at the sight of the shadow. Despite everything, as a priest, he must have sensed the evil mana emanating from Dimakushel.
"You know how this looks right now, Connie. But I swear, I'm not what you think."
"Bu-but...!"
"There's circumstances I can't easily explain. Don't misunderstand. I'm not involved with any demons."
-Kuhahaha! To say that after contracting with me!
"You know the story of the crocodile and the plover? It's a symbiotic relationship, sort of. I'm the crocodile, and that's the plover. Get what I mean?"
-Me, a plover?! What does that mean!
"...I swear on the names of the Twelve Gods, I've never used Kusukusu for anything 'evil.' Only to save people."
"Th-that's..."
"Think about it, Connie. If you use a knife that can kill for cooking, isn't that perfectly fine?"
"...!"
Thanks to the oath to the gods—or maybe my smooth talking—Connie looked at me with wavering eyes. It worked. It worked. As a newbie priest, he's surprisingly naive. I flashed the most benevolent smile I could muster with my shameless face.
-Step, step, step.
Right on cue, footsteps echoed from afar, along with the dim flicker of a lantern. Probably a guard we missed.
"You'll see once you watch."
"..."
"Kusukusu."
I whispered lowly. Dimakushel grumbled but melted into the shadows. It stretched along the darkness, avoiding the sea glowstone's light, until it reached the approaching guard's shadow.
-Pfshhh!!!!!
Riding the shadow, Dimakushel engulfed the guard's body in an instant.
-Crack! Crunch! Snap! Crack!
Hmm, way more brutal sounds than I expected. I sneaked a peek at Connie. His face was ashen white, sweat beading on his forehead. Damn.
-Splat!
-Swish, squeak, squeak... Swish.
No, what the hell? That creepy sound. What did this guy do?
"Kusukusu, you..."
-Ptooey!!
What Dimakushel dragged back was the guard's corpse. My god, I said handle it quietly—why pull this in front of Connie...? Huh?
"Wait..."
I crouched down to inspect the guard Dimakushel had "vomited" up. The fingernails on twisted fingers were overly sharp, the bare heels oddly elongated. Shoulders hunched unnaturally, and...
-Clink.
Removing the helmet revealed a face covered in brown fur, fangs bared sharply.
Just like a "rat."
"...Not human."
I didn't want to check inside the helmet further. I stood up, turning my head away.
As Dimakushel devoured the guard's body again, Connie let out a startled "Eek!"
The guards control the city, distribute relief supplies, isolate and "handle" plague victims. If the guards are already swarming with "rat humans," then...
"...Is the lord of Dehid behind all this?"
Spreading plague vectors disguised as relief supplies across the whole city, even corrupting the temple to bring the "black rain"...
It all makes sense if a lord-class figure is orchestrating it. No, it's impossible without one.
Of course, it could be premature judgment.
But preparing is always better than letting your guard down.
"The Crows..."
The lord of Dehid couldn't have done this alone.
The Crows, who reached into the deep sea dungeon, the dark elf village, and the Silver Mountains, were now boldly eyeing an imperial city.
To incite conflict between cities—or even nations—and bring chaos to the continent.
What exactly are they after, going that far?
What is their goal, even using the power of the Origin God?
"..."
For now, I've only glimpsed the Crows' shadow.
If I dispel the darkness over Dehid, can I get one step closer to their true identity?
"Alright, everyone, gear up tight."
I drew my bow and arrows, addressing the group.
"These aren't ordinary foes from here on out."
* * *
-Squeak, squeak. Squeak!
At some point, rats began infesting the castle.
At first, the castle folk tried to catch them. But from a certain day... exactly when Lord Heynes ignored the rats scurrying through the castle... they stopped bothering with the rats.
Heynes sat in his chair, gazing at the horde of rats scampering across the red carpet on the castle floor. His once-blue eyes now dulled, Heynes looked far older and more exhausted than before the rats appeared.
"Heynes."
At the sweet voice calling his name, Heynes straightened his slumped body from the chair and looked up at the speaker.
Barbason.
Beautiful copper skin that seemed to shimmer gold, curly black hair, and red eyes—a handsome man smiled down at him.
At that stunning sight, a question surfaced in Heynes's heavy mind.
"...Was he this young?"
Surely, when they first met, Barbason was an old man leaning on a staff.
Yet now...
"My friend. What are you pondering?"
"...Barbason, I was thinking of our first meeting."
"Ah, humans. Always dipping into the sea of memories at the drop of a hat."
Barbason waved his hand with exaggerated, theatrical flair, then lightly perched on the armrest of Heynes's chair. Terribly rude for a city lord, but Heynes didn't rebuke him. He merely glanced wearily at Barbason before sinking deeper into the chair.
"My friend. I've come to tell you everything is going well."
"Thank you, Barbason."
"The gratitude is mine, Heynes. My true friend. Thanks to you, the underground temple will become my new home. And..."
"..."
"You will soon reclaim the glory of old Ansgar."
"..."
"A land flowing with milk and honey, fertile golden fields! Dehid will be the heart of the new Ansgar. Exciting, isn't it?"
"...I'm thrilled."
"Heynes, it's an honor to help you. We're truly great friends to each other."
"I feel the same honor..."
"Then, my dearest friend."
Barbason licked his lips briefly.
"Prove your friendship."