8. Curse Plague (23)
8. Curse Plague (23)
An endless plunge into infinite space.
The emotion the two demons felt as they tumbled into the dark sky was sheer terror.
It was the same dread that grips humans staring into the heart of the Abyss.
Vayer, having unintentionally taught the demons a lesson in empathy, ceased using his ability.
Even if he was an Apostle, he couldn't recklessly abuse the Authority of a Demon God.
The goodwill of a Demon God always came with a price.
That was especially true for a power as potent as the Authority of Reversal.
Gravity snapped back to normal.
Too late — the two were already sailing upward on built-up momentum. Only after climbing a long way did they finally begin to fall again.
They were roughly a hundred meters up.
Sturdy as their bodies were, a fall from this altitude was still a death sentence.
Then, they spotted a river — slightly off from where they would land.
From this height, even water would do little as a cushion.
But it would still be better than smashing straight into the ground.
If they could just survive, they could return to the Abyss and regenerate their flesh.
The two Zakanuba kicked off the air itself.
A mid-air maneuver that exploited repulsive force against this world.
Vayer watched their efforts and let out a thin laugh.
He was a seasoned Exorcist.
He had already accounted for exactly this tactic.
He looked at the river, brought his hands together, then kept one in place and twisted the other palm-down.
"Flowing water... be inverted."
The Authority of the Demon God Kairal manifested once more.
He'd intended to reverse 'flowing water' into 'solidified water.'
Freeze the river, in other words, so it would shatter their bodies on impact.
The Demon God's power, however, operated far beyond his expectations.
The world flared blindingly bright.
The troupe members watching the fight had to shield their eyes from the sudden eruption of light.
It was still the middle of the night, yet the glare rivaled midday.
The source of the radiance was the river where the Zakanuba were plummeting.
The stream that had been babbling peacefully moments ago was now seething with a towering column of flame.
"The opposite of 'water' is 'fire'? The hell is wrong with this ability...?"
Vayer stared down at his own palm and let out a curse.
The Authority of Reversal he bore was an extremely unstable power.
On the surface, 'reversal' and 'duality' sounded like a simple choice between two predetermined outcomes.
But to split the world in two, you always needed a third element: a 'standard.'
Depending on what standard you used to invert the target, completely different results would emerge.
And the 'axis' that served as that standard was the Authority user himself.
"Kiii-eeek!"
Fortunately, the result was far more effective than he'd intended.
Their bodies, already shattered by the impact of the fall, were consumed by the flames.
The demons' forms convulsed a few times, then crumbled like dust.
That was the fate awaiting a demon's corpse once exposed to such searing light.
Vayer's expression, however, was far from satisfied.
Due to the side effects of every unintended reversal.
For a human to act as the 'axis' in the inversion of a world's phase was no trivial burden.
If the user failed to clearly establish their role as the 'standard,' the Authority could start affecting them as well.
A shift in habits or personality was a merciful outcome. On a truly unlucky day, even their sex could flip.
The Demon God of Duality and Reversal.
After living so long as his agent, Vayer could no longer recall what his original personality had even been.
He was at least sure he was still male, but...
Once he confirmed the demons were dead, he released the ability.
The fire reverted to water.
Steam billowed thick from the river as the superheated surroundings met the returning water.
Vayer checked that the cigarette he'd spat out earlier was still lit, then put it back in his mouth.
It wasn't exactly sanitary, but that was the least of his concerns.
"Oi, you lot alright?"
As the man in the tattered coat strode toward them, the fabric flapping behind him, the troupe members each took an involuntary step backward.
Ella couldn't believe what she'd just witnessed.
Having fought the demons directly, she knew full well how powerful they were.
And yet this man had played with them like toys — using nothing more than a few gestures and words.
Overwhelming strength.
A power that defied all common sense.
The man before her reminded her of someone she knew all too well.
Wonderstein.
He resembled him.
Their appearance and attire were completely different, but the air around them was similar.
In the sense of being 'dangerous.'
"Are you the leader of this outfit?"
He stopped in front of Ella.
A smile filled his face, cigarette still wedged at the corner of his mouth. Utterly relaxed.
Showing weakness to anyone, no matter who, was already half a defeat.
Dealing with Wonderstein had made her a master of suppressing fear behind a mask.
She folded her arms sharply, slouched into a hip-shot stance.
"Not the leader. I'm directly under him."
He looked at her, his expression sour.
"Cheeky kid. I'm talking to the adults here."
At that, Ella realized he wasn't looking at her — he was looking over her shoulder.
Incredibly, he'd addressed Umon.
Umon, singled out as the leader, scratched the back of his head.
"I-I'm the youngest one here..."
"Hm?"
Ella planted her hands on her hips and spoke to a head-tilting Vayer.
"That kid there's ten years old, no matter how he looks. I'm this circus troupe's Deputy Leader."
"Well, now... After watching you crack a Zakanuba's skull open, I figured this gentleman — no, this kid — had to be chief..."
Just then, someone burst out from the village entrance.
A woman with rose-pink hair, crowned by an overly substantial bloom of flowers.
Skidding to a stop with a stricken face, she spotted Vayer and lit up with surprise.
"Ah, Captain!"
"Sister Valentina."
She came charging at him gleefully.
He, deadpan, thrust out a palm and simply shoved her away.
"Wha-aah!"
Sent tumbling, she rolled across the dirt.
The instant she hit the ground she scrambled upright and hollered at him.
"Wha—what was that for?!"
"Don't rush at me with bristles out."
At his words, she looked down at herself with an 'oh.'
Ready to fight demons, she'd covered her body in Stakes of Light like a hedgehog.
To a Madosa like him, a hug from her right now was a genuine hazard.
"Th-That's still too much! You could've used your words!"
"Since when have you ever stopped because of words? You airhead!"
Valentina's face flushed red.
"Ugh! Your personality's all twisted up weird again, Captain!"
"Back in the day I just bit my tongue and didn't say any of this, you know? Honestly, every time I see you I think, 'what an airhead.' Airhead! Airhead! Airhead!"
"Aah, st-stop it!"
She clamped her hands over her ears and shook her head frantically.
"Anyway! Was it you who took care of those Zakanuba we sensed in this direction? Three of them — that's incredible!"
Vayer shrugged.
"Not three. Two. These people here dealt with the other one."
"Ehh, truly?"
Only then did she notice the circus troupe members and register surprise.
"Yeah, they call themselves a circus troupe. Used some strange powers... Probably Kirkeus's Inspira."
"A circus? The Monster Circus? Ah! Could you be Mr. Wonderstein's subordinates?"
Ella, who'd been on guard against this string of unknown arrivals, flared up at that phrasing.
"Sub — who's a subordinate!"
"Then?"
"W-We... just have an employment contract, alright... Anyway! How do you know that man?"
"Oh, I know him! I worked with him healing people afflicted with Devolut!"
Valentina proceeded to recount what had been happening in Dvalchev.
The troupe members were visibly stunned when they heard that Wonderstein could treat the Curse Plague.
They showed far more interest in that revelation than in the tale of him taking down a monster single-handedly — a reaction that significantly embarrassed Valentina, who'd been raising her voice and punching the air to reenact the dramatic parts.
Ella guessed exactly why they were so shaken.
She was no stranger to the question they'd always wanted to ask Wonderstein but never could.
Wonderstein, who could toy with the human body and reshape flesh.
They'd been too afraid — and even after the fear faded, too anxious about a negative answer — to ever ask him directly.
The curse of malformed flesh that even brilliant physicians, alchemists, magi, and clergy had no cure for.
What were the odds even he could fix it?
Still, in some quiet corner of their hearts, the question had always lingered.
Could it be...
Just maybe...
What if...
The Troupe Leader might actually be able to.
Change our bodies.
The question they'd kept locked in their chests all this time.
And today, a possible lead had emerged.
The supposedly incurable Curse Plague.
It was tied to the very source of their affliction.
And he had supposedly cured it.
If so, then...
"Hey, hey, loudmouth! How much stuff have you been running your mouth about? You didn't go around blabbing about us being the Black Magician Pursuit Squad, did you?"
"...Ah, uh, o-of course I didn't!"
Vayer's face soured as he watched Valentina flinch dramatically.
"You did it. You definitely did it! Agh, this restless, flapping yap of yours — I oughta just —"
"Kyaaah! Unhand me!"
Ella was the first to notice the change.
The troupe members were busy murmuring among themselves at the unexpected hopeful news, and the two Exorcists were preoccupied with their own tussle.
Only she, still scanning the surroundings, caught it.
There was a patch of darkness that was wrong — alien, even for night.
A curtain of pitch-black, like a void drinking up every scrap of light, rippled in the air.
"Over there..."
"I explicitly told you: get what we need from the priest here, then hurry to the meeting point!"
"B-But, a-as you can see the plague has spread..."
Unable to identify what she was seeing, Ella called to the two Exorcists.
"Look at that..."
"Didn't you just tell me you got here this evening? What were you doing before that?"
"Ugh, I was enjoying myself a bit in Yeterinpurk..."
"You've got to be..."
Ella finally snapped and yelled.
"I said, look at that!"
At that, every gaze finally followed where she pointed.
The troupe members didn't understand what the black curtain billowing in midair was, but the two Exorcists knew exactly what it signified.
Valentina's face drained of color. Even Vayer, who'd never lost his composure against the two Zakanuba, couldn't hide his alarm.
Ella could tell.
The emotion that surfaced on both their faces was unmistakable dread.
"What is that? That size..."
"Ah! Now that you mention it! The Demon-Detecting Mirror has been scorching hot!"
"The Demon-Detecting Mirror? Why are you telling me this only now?"
"C-Captain, you just started yelling at me the moment we met, so I never found the right moment..."
"Once this is over, I swear I'm going to —"
They didn't get to keep arguing for long.
A sharp, chill wind, like air seeping through a fissure in the polar ice, streamed from the tear in the black curtain.
Simultaneously, a massive silhouette emerged.
At a glance, it resembled a Zakanuba.
Several times larger, but still bearing the same rabbit-like head with antlers, the same gangly, dangling arms.
But this one wore a helm crafted from a dragon's skull, and a cape of black fabric rippled from its shoulders like silk wings.
Most distinct of all, however, was the enormous pitch-black scythe slung across its back.
Valentina realized her earlier reading hadn't been wrong.
She'd just hoped it was merely a concentration of Zakanuba...
In the blood-red eyes set within that hollow of the Abyss, flames smoldered.
A high-ranking demon of the Abyss, bearing the epithet 'Reaper.'
Nua-Zakanuba.
Possessing the strength of dozens of Zakanuba, it pushed through the Veil of the Abyss and emerged.