78. Erosion (4)
78. Erosion (4)
"Kyaaaaaaah!!!"
"Stop!!!"
The Holy Knight Captain screamed at the sight of his subordinate being dismantled alive right in front of him.
Even with the scream that was close to a shriek, Matthew continued to butcher the Holy Knight.
Matthew was having a very happy daily life since coming here.
To Matthew, who could no longer be called sane, this place was like heaven.
Humans came in endlessly. He could butcher as much as he wanted.
On top of that, the presence of Narim, who cooked the human meat he butchered better than any other food, made this place even brighter.
It wasn't that Matthew had never eaten human meat.
It would be a lie to say he hadn't eaten human meat while living as a butcher at the Dark Auction House.
Human meat really didn't taste good.
Even though he had eaten the meat of a woman who had just become an adult.
But the human meat that Narim cooked was different.
Every time he took a bite, it was a taste that made dopamine explode.
It was just a shame that there were very few opportunities to eat human meat.
Swoosh.
"Geureureureueueueuk."
As Matthew dismantled the leg furthest from the heart, the Captain shouted.
"Why on earth are you doing this!!! Why!!!"
The Captain was shouting about why a fellow human would cruelly dismantle a human on the side of a monster, but to Matthew, who was already insane, it sounded different.
"Why start with the legs? It's simple. Because I have to butcher while keeping them alive for as long as possible. A creature called a human must be handled quite delicately. If they die, they start to spoil immediately, and the freshness difference is huge, so—"
"That's not what I meant!!!"
"Sigh. Well, why are you so noisy. Don't worry. I'll send you along too. In a little while— Ah, she's here."
Matthew put down the knife he was holding, wiped his hands on his apron, and took it off.
He tried to look as neat as possible.
"Are you doing well?"
"Welcome. Queen-nim."
Matthew bowed his waist as politely as possible to Lea, who was walking toward the slaughterhouse.
Lea tidied her hair and accepted Matthew's greeting.
"Yes. I am proceeding without any problems in making the meat while talking to Narim as much as possible."
"Narim? When did you get so close?"
"Ah, s-sorry."
"There's nothing to be sorry about. I'm just curious. I thought Narim-nim was quite scared of Matthew-nim at first, but you two seem to be speaking informally to each other."
"We had no choice but to talk the most..."
"Oh my... I'll cheer for you. Anyway, is the classification finished?"
"Yes. I have separated them perfectly. Here is a document with a simple explanation."
"Thank you."
Lea admired the paper.
'He really is a capable person.'
Clean work. When asked a question, he doesn't answer with a question but gives a confident answer.
When given a task, he even handles the parts that were missed and reports on them perfectly.
'If a junior like this had come when I was working at a company, I would have been truly happy.'
Lea's favorability toward Matthew increased day by day.
Of course, that favorability was not about the relationship, but about the entity.
Lea walked toward the Captain, who was glaring at her as if to kill her.
"Nice to meet you."
The Captain immediately grasped that the being in front of him was the highest-ranking entity here due to the negative energy flowing from Lea's body.
"Are you the highest-ranking being here?"
"Uhh-huh~. Yes. I am Lea, the Queen of this place. Nice to meet you."
"Why on earth are you doing this. Why on earth!!!"
Lea looked at the Captain carefully.
A middle-aged man who looked to be in his 50s.
However, his body was quite well-trained, to the point where he didn't look like he was in his 50s.
His body alone was stronger than most adventurers or knights. It was something you could feel just by looking at him.
On top of that, the Mana and Holy Power that could be felt no less than Viviant's proved that he didn't just take on the role of leading the Holy Knights.
"I always say this, but when humans eat pigs, chickens, or cows, why do they eat them? Do they think, 'Why do I have to eat this?' while eating? No, they don't."
"The Goddess-nim will surely not leave you alone...!!!"
"Hm? Do you really believe in the Goddess-nim?"
"The Goddess-nim actually exists! Monsters like you wouldn't know—"
"No, no, I know the Goddess-nim actually exists. But I'm asking if you believe in the Goddess-nim. I'm talking about the Goddess-nim's personality, not her existence."
"What are you trying to say...! The Goddess-nim wishes for this world to be happy!!! She always shows us the way!!!"
Lea smiled at the Captain, who looked almost like a fanatic.
"Wishes for this world to be happy? That's a very strange thing to say."
It didn't sound like she wanted humans to be happy.
It sounded like it meant only this world needed to be happy.
"Do not insult the Goddess-nim!!!"
Lea, as she had before, thought about this Holy Power she possessed.
She thinks the Goddess-nim can't take it because of the Hive Mind, but she is also considering the hypothesis that the Goddess-nim is just leaving it alone.
She doesn't know which of the two is the correct answer, but that doesn't matter.
Because.
"Uh...? Uh? W-what is this..."
The Captain's eyes trembled uncontrollably at the energy that began to flow from the Queen, the root of all evil in front of him.
A warm and cozy energy.
It was the same energy that flowed from his own body.
"H-how can something like you have the Goddess-nim's power..."
"Wow... that expression just now is so delicious. Is this why everyone hides their true strength?"
Lea started to feel dopamine pouring out as she saw a human who had lived praying and believing in the Goddess-nim have that faith shaken in an instant.
Lea shoved her hand into the heart of the human whose faith in the Goddess-nim was wavering.
"G-Goddess-nim, w-why..."
'I caught so many high-quality humans, it's a waste to give them all to the children. Honestly, I didn't do anything, but still, I'm the Queen, so wouldn't one of the most delicious ones be fine?'
Lea savored the Mana and Holy Power entering her body from the Captain's body while watching the Captain's crumbling expression.
==
"Everyone is crazy! H-how can you eat human meat!!!"
Viviant jumped up from the table and shouted.
"Stop saying strange things, just shut up and eat all the food you spilled."
As soon as Narim's words ended, Viviant's body began to move.
She sat at the table and her hands moved.
She grabbed a spoon and started scooping up food.
"T-this, what on earth is th—!!!"
Only then did Viviant recall again that a monster had entered her brain.
<Information>
Name: Viviant
Race: Human (Eroding)
Affiliated Country: Holy Kingdom
Affiliated Organization: Messiah Church
Gender: Female (27)
Height/Weight: 168.6cm / 59.8kg
Alignment: Neutral / Good
<Stats>
Strength: 53
Durability: 53
Agility: 30
Stamina: 60
Magic Power: 81
<Unique Ability>
Status Window
<Status>
Erosion
Parasitism
Loss of Body Control
<Information>
Currently, a creature is parasitizing the brain and spinal cord.
Little by little and slowly, the brain will be eroded, and the personality and spirit will mutate.
The parasitic creature must be killed as quickly as possible.
Control of the body has been taken away by the creature. The brain's signals cannot reach the spinal cord and are blocked by the creature.
The creature can arbitrarily manipulate the brain's signals to control the body.
'Ah...'
Viviant realized that her body was not her own.
Human meat.
To be precise, she had to put into her mouth food made from the meat of the Holy Knight she had spent 5 years with, and the vomit she had just thrown up.
Having eaten all the food made of humans by the creature embedded in her brain, not by her own will, Viviant couldn't even vomit even if she wanted to.
Narim was satisfied looking at the clean, empty bowl.
"Well done. You have to eat a lot of human meat so that Viviant-nim won't have a hard time."
"What does that mean...?"
"I don't know the details either, but it seems like every time the child in Viviant-nim's head eats human meat, the erosion happens faster. I heard that the moment the erosion dominates the entire brain, the original personality mutates."
==
'I have to escape from here. I have to get what's in my head out right now!'
She must not delay.
This place is hell and it is a place she must escape.
Right now, Viviant is lying back on the bed where she first opened her eyes.
Narim put her here to rest after eating.
'No one is here right now. This is the optimal timing...!'
Viviant confirmed that her body was moving according to her own will again, and carefully got up from the bed.
For some reason, everyone seemed to have things to do and disappeared from here.
'First, I need to know where the Captain and the other Holy Knights are.'
Viviant, who had no intention of running away alone, first walked toward the place that looked like a door to anyone.
There was no hesitation in that action.
'That being called the Queen wants my Unique Ability very much. She probably can't kill me.'
Based on the information so far, Viviant, who had reached a conclusion close to the correct answer, boldly opened the door.
'A cave? As expected, this place was where those monsters lived.'
Viviant closed her eyes.
First, she must find the Captain, who is the most important.
The way to find him is simple.
She just needs to sense Holy Power.
Holy Power is attracted to Holy Power.
Although she hadn't fully recovered, she expanded her Holy Power detection range with the extreme efficiency and control possible only because she was a Saint Candidate.
'Found him.'
As soon as Viviant confirmed the Holy Power in her detection, she opened her eyes.
'Thank goodness. The fact that there is this much Holy Power means nothing has happened to him yet.'
Viviant moved her steps toward where she sensed the Holy Power as stealthily as possible so as not to be caught.
Naked.