Chapter 143
Chapter 143
Ch. 143 .｡.:✧ Emergency Alert (3) ✧:.｡.
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Translated By Arcane Translations
Translator: FusionX
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A strange change was occurring worldwide, simultaneously. It was difficult to describe, but mercenaries were among the first to notice it.
“What’s going on? The monsters seem weaker.”
“Is it just me?”
“I feel it too.”
During a dungeon raid, mercenaries noticed the monsters’ strength had decreased. It was a subtle change, but for mercenaries, whose lives hung in the balance, it was noticeable.
“Whatever.”
“Lucky us.”
Most dismissed it.
The decrease in power was too insignificant to be meaningful, and it was beneficial to them anyway.
“Ugh! Haaa…”
|[What’s wrong, Sogong?!]|
“My head… my head…!”
Deep within a valley in the Northern Continent, Sogong, who had been training in a secluded cave, collapsed, clutching her head.
Guiho rushed to her side, but she couldn’t figure out what was wrong. There were no physical injuries, no signs of curses or magic. All she could do was watch.
[This is… ominous. Very ominous…]
Guiho held her disciple and looked up at the sky, barely visible through the cave entrance.
An inexplicable sense of foreboding washed over her. She felt like something massive was approaching.
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“Explain yourself. You found Yoo-jin, but you were too scared to capture him because of his pet spider?”
“…Ah!”
Meanwhile, Transylvania, who was kneeling before Yerina, being scolded, suddenly gasped.
She felt something disappearing from within her, something that had been there for a long time, something that had bound her.
“Are you even listening?!”
“Sorry…”
But its disappearance didn’t change anything. Transylvania dismissed it and focused on Yerina.
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[Hmm…? ]
In Clockwork City, Linda, who was sorting mail, froze. She was about to discard a trivial letter from Cornelia when her circuits began to transform.
[Ah… this is… dangerous…]
Linda’s voice distorted as she sensed the gravity of the situation. An ‘intent’ was entering her, a familiar sensation.
It was the same intent she had encountered when she fell into the dungeon, the intent of the being from another world. But this time, the scale was different.
It was powerful enough to warp and reshape her circuits. If this continued, she would lose control, just like before.
Linda made a swift decision.
[I’m sorry, Master.]
Crack!
She drove her hand into the engine in her chest. Blue coolant sprayed out, and her movements slowed, then stopped.
She didn’t move again.
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“…”
On a plain far from Cologne, Undecided, who had been lying in a makeshift camp, suddenly opened her eyes.
A confusing sensation filled her body, twisting and contorting it.
“…Ugh… haa…!”
“What’s wrong?!”
Yoo-jin, who had been sleeping lightly, jumped up and rushed to her side. He held her, checking her forehead and breathing.
“Damn it. What’s happening?”
He laid Nameless down and carefully examined Undecided, but he couldn’t find anything wrong.
Her body was still cold, and there were no abnormalities in her magical or demonic energy flow. She was perfectly healthy.
He held her, massaging her body and feeding her blood, but there was nothing else he could do.
“Please, snap out of it. Please.”
“…Ugh…”
He stayed awake all night.
Near dawn, Undecided finally closed her eyes and fell asleep, and Yoo-jin, exhausted, drifted off as well.
He thought he heard a voice in his sleep, Undecided whispering,
“…Don’t… forget me…”
He hadn’t heard the whole sentence, but those words lingered in his mind like a faint dream.
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“Yoo-jin.”
Tap, tap.
Tap, tap.
A gentle voice and a rhythmic tapping on my shoulder woke me up.
Wait. A gentle voice?
I opened my eyes, startled.
I remembered Undecided’s sudden pain last night. But I couldn’t figure out what was wrong and could only hold her and comfort her.
I didn’t remember anything after that. I had intended to stay awake until she recovered, but I must have fallen asleep after seeing her peacefully sleeping.
“…?”
Undecided wasn’t in my arms. I turned around and froze.
“You’re finally awake?”
“Huh…? Undecided?”
“Yes. What’s wrong?”
“What… what are you wearing…?”
“An apron? I found it in the bag. Doesn’t it look good on me while cooking? Come here! I made vegetable porridge!”
Undecided smiled brightly and ran towards the campfire where a pot was simmering. She held a ladle, something she had never touched before, and her apron was neatly tied with a ribbon.
Her face was expressive, her voice soft and melodic. This unfamiliar sight led me to a single conclusion.
“Who are you?”
“Kyaa!”
This wasn’t Undecided.
Had she been possessed by Belphegor’s demonic energy?
I rushed towards her, grabbed her arms, and checked her chest, but there was no trace of Belphegor’s demonic energy.
I was certain I would recognize it after the incident with Tay.
Perhaps it was Luna’s doing?
Undecided was technically a corpse, so Luna could control her with necromancy. But there was no trace of necromancy either.
“Um… Yoo-jin… this is a little embarrassing…”
“Who are you, really?”
Undecided twisted her body, blushing.
I was baffled. There was nothing wrong with her body.
That meant… she was Undecided.
Confused, I released her wrists.
I had to confirm a few things.
“Wait. Let’s check something. Where did we first meet?”
“I don’t remember the name of the place… but it was definitely a dark warehouse in a slave market.”
“Answer me. What was the name of the person you beat to death with your club?”
“I don’t know. I don’t remember.”
“Try to remember.”
“I don’t know! I don’t want to remember killing someone! I think he was some important person in Cologne… and he had a punchable face! That’s all I remember!”
She remembered everything about our journey together.
I asked her a few more questions, just in case. She had a good memory, she shouldn’t have forgotten.
The questioning was difficult due to her uncooperative, changed personality, but the more I questioned her, the more certain I became.
“You are Undecided…”
“Yes! I told you! How many times do I have to say it?!”
“Why… why have you changed so much…?”
“I don’t know. I just woke up like this. But Yoo-jin… do you… hate me like this?”
I suppressed my anxiety and looked into her eyes. They were filled with life, with emotions.
This unfamiliar sight made me look away.
“I don’t hate it, but I need to know the reason. This might not just be your emotions returning.”
“Can’t we just accept it? I’m happy that I can finally think and feel like a human, just like you…”
Unlike me, she seemed happy about it. She kept urging me to try the vegetable porridge she had made.
I took a bite, not expecting much.
“This is good.”
“Right? Hee hee!”
It was surprisingly delicious.
It wasn’t exactly gourmet cuisine, but the seasoning was just right, and the ratio of rice and vegetables was perfect.
It tasted like a decent home-cooked meal, a level of skill impossible to achieve with just a few attempts.
It must be muscle memory from before she became a blood ghoul. I had never seen her cook before, I didn’t know she had this talent.
“Hmm?”
“I’m not giving you any. Go away.”
“Why? Give Nameless some, too.”
“Tch…”
Undecided puffed out her cheeks and pouted, then scooped some porridge and fed it to Nameless.
“Woo! Mmm! Mmm!”
Nameless nodded enthusiastically, indicating that it was delicious. Or perhaps she was complaining that it was too hot.
Or maybe both.
“Look at you, making a mess…”
Undecided clicked her tongue and wiped Nameless’s mouth with a handkerchief.
I watched them and thought…
‘…Do I really need to fix this?’
Although I didn’t know the cause, this change in Undecided, who had always been like a machine, was definitely positive.
There was no reason to find a way to reverse it. This was normal.
Transylvania expressed her emotions freely.
Blood ghouls who regained their emotions retained their original personalities, just like living humans, except their bodies were dead.
So, this was Undecided’s true personality, the one she had before becoming a blood ghoul.
Perhaps I was overreacting.
Perhaps this was fine.
‘This is right. This is the natural order.’
It was time to accept it.
What had been was abnormal, this was normal.
But then I realized something was wrong.
[Strength: 19 (-5) *Guardian Knight penalty active]
[Stamina: 44 (-5) *Guardian Knight penalty active]
[Magic Power: 50 (-5) *Guardian Knight penalty active]
[Agility: 25 (-5) *Guardian Knight penalty active]
[Luck: 10 (-5) *Guardian Knight penalty active]
“Huh…?”
My Guardian Knight trait, which was always active when I was with Undecided, was inactive.
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