65
Chapter 65
The monster, a stitched-together mass of flesh, just stared blankly in our direction.
Since it had no eyes, I couldn't tell if it was really looking at us, but... oddly enough, it felt that way.
As the monster stood perfectly still, the frozen soldiers quickly came to their senses and began to move.
"What in the world is that...?"
"Is that thing the same as those other monsters?"
The soldiers' voices were mixed with surprise and caution.
They clearly had no idea what this monster was either.
Come to think of it, aside from the people of the Order, most didn't even seem to know what a demon stone or a demonic human was.
Had these monsters not appeared recently?
Or had the Order been hiding them on purpose all this time?
It was one of the two.
Amidst the silent standoff, the monster's face suddenly split open horizontally with a sickening tear.
"ᚾᛃᚨᛚ... ᛗᚨᚱᛃᛁᛟ...."
From that gap, an incomprehensible, distorted voice at a low frequency flowed out.
It sounded as if it were boiling up from deep beneath the ground.
That low, bizarre vibration was hard to even listen to; though I couldn't understand it, I felt an instinctual sense of foreboding.
Just when everyone was frozen stiff again, unable to move a single toe.
A soldier suddenly sprinted forward.
"Waaaaaah!"
Gripping his spear, he threw his entire body at the monster.
It was impossible to tell if that short charge was fueled by anger, courage, or the reckless flailing of a man consumed by fear.
But one thing was certain.
The tip of his spear was aimed squarely at the monster's torso.
Plop.
There was no sound of tearing flesh or clashing metal.
Like a stone tossed into water, the spear smoothly sucked into the monster's body without any resistance.
"...What the...?"
A word slipped from the soldier's mouth like a dumbfounded gasp.
But no answer returned.
The monster's body wobbled, and then, as if pulling him into an embrace, it swallowed the soldier's arm, shoulder, and torso in succession.
"U-ugh... Aaaaargh!!"
Before he even had a chance to struggle desperately, black mucus surged into his mouth.
It blocked his airway, covered his eyes, and devoured his entire head in an instant.
Thud.
A single blood-soaked spear fell to the ground.
It was the only trace that he had ever been there.
The monster remained perfectly still.
Even after swallowing a person whole, it didn't so much as let out a breath.
It just stood there as a massive lump.
"...R-run..."
Someone began to back away.
Another dropped their weapon and slumped to the floor.
Splash.
A shoe slipped on the bloody water, and in an instant, the battlefield was engulfed in silence.
No one could move.
The soldiers who had been raising their voices to defend the castle just moments ago, and the mercenaries who had been swept up in madness, all kept their mouths shut and stared at the monster.
Then, the monster slowly raised its head.
The face of the soldier it had swallowed surfaced through the bloody water, wearing a distorted smile.
"F-fuck...."
The fear was contagious.
Someone gasped for air, while another dry-heaved.
The once-spirited battlefield was now on the verge of collapse.
After devouring the soldier, the monster began to slowly move toward the castle wall.
"Aaaaargh!!"
"It's a monster! Run!"
Screams erupted, and chaos spread.
The soldiers who had taken the lead with their spears vanished, leaving only a crowd consumed by terror.
Some stumbled away, while others dropped their swords and looked back.
Without anyone having to prompt them, soldiers and mercenaries tangled together as they fled into the castle.
Even the archers who had been firing arrows from atop the castle wall were busy climbing down the ladders.
"Damn it, what the hell is that......!"
"Run! You'll die if you fall behind!!"
I unknowingly took one step, then two steps back.
My heart pounded like crazy, and my legs lost their strength.
It felt as if my whole body was growing cold, starting from the tip of my chin.
"Riv!"
Baldic grabbed my arm.
Pulled by his firm grip, my senses snapped back dizzily.
"We need to go now! Or we're really doomed!"
"......Yeah. Got it!"
I nodded instinctively.
I threw away the delusion that we could still fight.
Eileen had already sheathed her dagger and was checking our surroundings.
Her expression had crumbled, but her eyes were still clear.
In the midst of that, Silon was the first to bolt.
Silon yelled out as he slung his quiver back over his shoulder.
"H-hurry up and run!"
...This punk, he was definitely standing there with his mouth agape just a second ago.
Why is he suddenly so put-together at a time like this?
The monster approached the front of the moat.
Stretching its clay-like body, it slithered over the moat as if crossing a fence.
A bizarrely squirming lump of flesh.
Upon seeing its form, a few soldiers simply collapsed to the ground.
Just as the monster was about to cross the moat and pounce on the fallen soldier,
Thwack!
A flash of light struck down from the sky like a thunderbolt.
What followed was the dull sound of flesh being pierced.
"ᛗᚨᛚᚢ...?"
Three holes instantly opened up in the monster's torso, and crimson liquid spouted from the gaps.
"W-what...?"
"...Who fell down?"
Amidst the erupting surprise and confusion, the dirt and dust slowly began to clear.
And beyond that.
Stood a figure whose entire body was clad in dark leather armor.
Red hair fluttered in the wind, and the cloak draped over her shoulders was dyed as deep as fresh blood.
In her hand was a massive pike that looked like a solid block of iron.
She slowly raised her head.
Her expression was close to emotionless, but the corners of her mouth were twisted in a hard scowl.
"What is this filthy thing."
A stiff, dry voice.
It was neither a joke nor a warning; it was pure disgust and annoyance.
It was a face I had seen somewhere before.
I couldn't remember exactly, but I could never forget that overwhelming presence.
Calcia.
The gold token mercenary who held the title of Blood Princess.
It was that woman, the one called the Mad Dog.
The monster let out an agonized roar and reached out, but she didn't take a single step back.
"Tsk."
A short click of the tongue.
And soon after, the tip of her pike, swung like lightning, drew a dark red trajectory in the air.
Swish.
Just a single strike.
From that one line, the monster's torso quietly split apart right down the middle.
Without even a scream, the monster simply collapsed.
Flesh and blood poured down like a waterfall.
"...Is it over?"
A low voice broke out among the soldiers.
A silence mixed with fear, awe, and shock.
No one dared to move hastily.
Calcia wordlessly flicked the blood off the tip of her pike.
Then, she quietly looked up at the castle wall.
"Like a bunch of rats."
At that single remark, several mercenaries who had been fleeing just moments ago shrank back in terror and lowered their heads.
I held my breath, needlessly afraid that her gaze might land on me.
Luckily- no, fortunately, her attention didn't linger for long.
Calcia silently shouldered her pike and walked toward the castle gate.
Her pace was slow, but everyone stepped aside, and no one even thought of blocking her path.
"...That's a monster too."
Baldic muttered lowly next to me.
It was a voice strangely mixed with awe and caution.
I simply nodded without a word.
It wasn't an exaggeration.
***
Just like that, the battle ended.
Naturally, I thought we'd be able to rest for a bit.
But reality was never that easy.
Cleaning up the traces of the battle and holding funerals for the fallen soldiers fell to us.
In previous fights, I had rarely ever dirtied my hands with this kind of work.
I just had to fight and survive, after all.
Maybe that was why this scene felt so unfamiliar and heavy.
Before the smell of blood could even dry, shovels and pieces of cloth were thrust into our hands.
My body was already dead tired, but it felt like another battle had begun.
As we carried the corpses, dug the earth, and buried them, I suddenly realized something.
As expected, winning isn't everything.
The first thing that remained from this battle wasn't a sweet sense of victory, but the thick, heavy stench of iron.
The taste of victory might be sweet, but its scent was definitely the disgusting reek of blood.
Eileen and Silon both wore heavy expressions throughout, perhaps feeling something similar.
The only one who seemed relatively fine was Baldic.
"Me? Well, I was a priest, you know."
"What does being a priest have to do with it?"
"I've held plenty of funeral masses."
"Ah."
Oh, right. Baldic used to be a priest.
But based on his usual behavior, he never seemed like a priest at all, so I'd completely forgotten.
Still, seeing him praying as he buried them in the ground, he finally gave off a bit of a priest vibe.
"What in the world were these people trying to do?"
Eileen asked, looking down at the tomb.
"The thieves? Well, maybe they just wanted to live."
"That's what I don't understand. If they wanted to live, they shouldn't have made that choice."
Eileen seemed to have her doubts as she looked at the people who had basically self-destructed.
I didn't really have anything to say either.
There was no way those thieves had some noble purpose.
We could only guess that there might be something behind the scenes; to us, who didn't know the whole story, it just looked strange.
"Eileen, the truth is, not every action has a deep purpose. Sometimes you just get swept up in the flow."
"So, were these people like that too?"
"...Probably."
In the end, this was the only conclusion we could reach.
"Let's go, I want to rest."
"Yeah, let's hurry back to our quarters."
"Where were you staying, Baldic?"
"Me? I was staying at the Calea Inn."
"Oh, I was there before too. How fascinating."
We made our way toward our quarters.
***
'It was about time.'
It was a dark space I hadn't encountered in a while.
Yes, it was the Level-up Stage.
...Or was it not that long ago?
I had been so distracted by various things lately that my sense of time was growing blurry.
Not even having a watch made it all the more confusing.
Anyway, the fact that I had leveled up was a welcome thought.
[You have reached the threshold. Please select a perk.]
The voice I always heard felt strangely different today.
Why did it say reached the threshold instead of leveled up?
It was strange in a way I couldn't quite put my finger on.
Just as my thoughts deepened with those doubts.
Flash-
As if overriding my thoughts, three Cards appeared before my eyes with a flashing sound effect.
_______________________
[Maximum Agility Increase]
[Maximum Health Increase]
[Maximum Mana Increase]
_______________________
Going by the text alone, there wasn't a particularly impactful option.
However, there was one thing that was different.
'White, green...... purple?'
That's right, a purple Card had appeared.
And the target was the Maximum Mana Increase I had wanted so badly.
Was I finally being rewarded for everything I'd done?
As if proving its grade, the description was also different.
[Maximum Mana increases significantly]
Significantly. To think it said significantly.
It was a stark contrast from the usual meager, slight increases day in and day out.
I wanted to shout Woohoo! in my heart, but my body drooped heavily, as if fatigue didn't just disappear even in a dream.
Even so, I couldn't hide my joy.
'Phew, I guess that takes some of the worry out of my Mana.'
I selected the Card right away.
[You have reached the threshold. Please select a perk.]
Once the Card was absorbed, that familiar voice echoed in my head soon after.
Considering the scale of the battle, this might be a natural outcome.
At that moment, a sudden question popped into my mind.
To what extent did my party apply in this battle?
Thinking back to how the concept of party hunting applied when I leveled up before.
Could it be that large-scale battles like this one were also included?
If so, a massive amount of experience points would have come in, and a Level Up would have naturally followed.
As I thought about that, a single word flashed through my mind.
War.
If a war of this scale continued, the speed at which I Level Up might exceed my imagination.
But soon, I dismissed that thought myself.
...Even so.
Heading to the Battlefield just to Level Up... that just didn't feel right.
Tsk, I should put aside these useless thoughts and just look at the Cards.
_______________________
[Maximum Strength Increase]
[Blue Magic : Water Cloak]
[Blue Magic : Water Prison]
_______________________
'There are two of them?'
The Cards contained not just one, but two types of Magic.
Up until now, only one had ever appeared, but this time was different.
Was I just really lucky? It might simply be a low probability, nothing more and nothing less.
Green, green, blue.
The grades weren't bad either.
At the very least, they weren't bad options.
By the way, a Water Cloak?
It didn't mean a burial shroud or a veterinarian's coat... It wouldn't be something like that, right?
I reflexively skimmed through the Magic descriptions.
[Consumes Mana to create a Cloak of Condensation from moisture.]
Judging by the description alone, it was a Utility Magic that used moisture to form a Cloak of water.
If I had to categorize it, it was a combat support type like the Blue Eye I obtained before.
It seemed closer to defense, Stealth, or evasion rather than a direct attack.
Honestly, it was a bit ambiguous.
Since I already had a decent defensive Magic called Water Barrier, I wondered if I really needed to use this.
Well, it wouldn't hurt to have a lot of Magic.
I could always use them differently depending on the situation.
I immediately shifted my gaze to the next Magic.
[Blue Magic : Water Prison]
[Consumes Mana to form a prison of water, binding the target for a certain period of time.]
This was also closer to utility than an attack.
However, it immediately caught my eye since it was a Crowd Control skill, something I currently lacked.
I liked the name right off the bat, and the description was clear.
Binding.
It was a word that could change the flow of a battle in an instant.
When facing enemies with high mobility or heavy defense, just having this one thing would paint a completely different picture.
Without needing to think about it any further, I picked Water Prison.
'Phew... Today's harvest is extremely satisfy-'
[You have reached the threshold. Please select a perk.]
A system message rang out once again.
An unprecedented three consecutive level ups at once.
Honestly, even considering the number of thieves we fought, it felt like I had gone up too much.
'It seems that if someone is truly considered my ally, they are applied to my party.'
This meant that if I participated in large-scale battles, explosive leveling was guaranteed.
It was a very sweet temptation.
Of course, that didn't mean I was going to head off to war.
Because the problems right in front of me were already overwhelming enough.
But as expected, one's luck couldn't stay good forever.
The third perk was an absolute dud.
Out of strength, health, and agility, I chose the relatively safe option of a health increase.
After all, surviving anytime, anywhere was the most important thing.
I stared blankly as the card was smoothly absorbed, and just as I was about to really close my eyes.
[Residue absorbed. Please choose a price.]
"...!"
That familiar, yet ominous voice.
It was the unforgettable system message I had heard in Delhar Village.
In that moment, the memory of my mana stat being forcibly reduced flashed through my mind.
...That was literal trauma.
Cold sweat beaded down my spine.
'This... is popping up again?'
Could it be that this message always appears unconditionally when I kill a demonic human?
Or was it because of that flesh monster that Calcia sliced down earlier.
It probably didn't include the ones who blew themselves up, so it had to be from that.
Vwoom-
My vision was dyed red.
___________________________________
[Fragment of Evil : Price of Power]
[Fragment of Evil : Price of Mana]
[Fragment of Evil : Price of Life]
[Fragment of Evil : Price of Speed]
[Fragment of Evil : Price of Wrath]
___________________________________
'...This again.'
The familiar red cards.
However, something was a little different.
Instead of the Price of Greed from last time, a strange card called Price of Wrath was included this time.
'Did only the name change? Or is the effect different too?'
There was no way to know.
Honestly, I had absolutely no idea how these cards actually worked.
One thing for sure was that just looking at the names filled me with an instinctual sense of repulsion.
...And that, without fail, the moment had come where I had to give something up again.
I slowly inhaled, and let out a long breath.
If I couldn't avoid it, my only option was to pick the least painful one.
This time as well, the structure of most of the cards was the same.
A kind of trade where I had to give something up to get something else.
It wasn't much different from before, in that I had to choose the least precious thing among what I had left.
Eventually, my gaze stopped on the final card.
[Fragment of Evil : Price of Wrath]
[Select one of the cards you possess to massively increase its effects. However, the mana cost of that card is doubled.]
It was a terrifying description.
At the same time, it was a very tempting option.
Magic that was far more powerful than what I had now.
There was probably no better card when it came to raising offensive power.
But not right now.
I only had one offensive magic right now, and in a situation where I was always struggling with insufficient mana, doubling the cost was too big of a risk.
'Let's consider it later if it pops up again.'
I persuaded myself like that, and picked up [Fragment of Evil : Price of Mana].
The price of having my health reduced hurt, but what I needed the most right now was, after all, mana.
With this, the selections were over.
Finally, I could actually close my eyes.
When I closed my eyes, the battlefield of the day unfolded before me.
Black dots pouring down like a rain of arrows.
The monster letting out ear-piercing shrieks like a beast.
The soldier screaming desperately.
The eyes of the people collapsed on the mud below the castle wall.
The center of my chest gradually grew heavy.
Unswallowable emotions rose right up to my chin.
Even after seeing all this right in front of my eyes, the fact that I was still breathing felt foreign.
I took a breath in, and slowly let it out.
Cold sweat ran down my spine, but fortunately, I was calming down little by little.
'It's okay. It's over for now.'
My mind was still a mess, but I felt like I could relax a bit.
Leaving behind the memories where the stench of blood had yet to fade, I closed my eyes again.
For this moment at least, it was okay to forget everything and fall asleep.
The world slowly faded into darkness.