Asilien, Pale as Death
Yujun took Asilien's deathly pale wrist and carefully sent his mana flowing into her.
Thread-thin strands of it searched every corner of her body.
This is bad.
He grasped her condition in an instant, and it was grave.
She's turning into a monster.
How was he supposed to explain that? To Paranet, of all people, the words would be especially hard to get out.
"Paranet."
"I am prepared to hear it. Speak plainly, I beg you."
"Asilien is becoming a monster."
"......What?"
He clearly hadn't expected the word monster. Paranet looked rattled.
"A monster? A player, becoming a monster?"
"I can't be certain, but a murky energy is eating into her body. That energy is something only monsters are supposed to have."
"You don't mean......"
"The Demon God Worshippers either set out to turn Asilien into a monster, or they're using her as a test subject. And since she's exceptionally strong, she'd endure just about any experiment."
Grit.
Paranet ground his teeth. A monster. Had he been able to hear that a player was becoming one and stay unfazed, he would have been undead not only in the flesh, but in the mind as well. His temperament, though, was anything but undead—and so he was furious.
"Is there... no way to stop it?"
"I'll try."
Honestly, he couldn't promise a solution on the spot. This was no curse, and it wasn't a disease or a viral infection either. If an elixir worked, that would be a mercy, but he suspected the odds of that were slim. Yujun drew one from his inventory first.
"Forgive me. Because of me, you've gone and..."
"It isn't only because of you. And since it concerns you, I don't grudge an elixir."
"M-Master..."
He meant it. For Paranet, there was no item too precious to spend.
Except the Synchronization Marble and the Transcendence-grade items... Oh, there's the Transcendent Stone, too. Right. The Dragon Heart would be a bit much to hand over. The skill gems, somewhat...
Thinking it over again, there were quite a few things he would mind losing. Still, an elixir was... well.
He parted Asilien's tightly closed lips just enough to let her drink. An elixir held only a trace of liquid to begin with, so there was no chance of wasting a drop. Sunlight leaked through a window left awkwardly ajar and fell across her blanched face. The elixir didn't seem to restore any color to her cheeks, and Paranet sank—and so did Yujun.
"Manuela. What should we do?"
"I don't know either. Turning a player into a monster... I've never seen it."
Even Manuela, who had made chimera after chimera, was just as lost for an answer.
"Yenil. What about you?"
"With the items I know, and with magic, there seems to be no way."
"Hmm..."
As Yujun swallowed a troubled sound, Yenil went on.
"Which is to say that your magic might yet be able to do it."
"My magic?"
"Yes. You stand several realms above me, do you not—in the art of magic. Honestly, a single spell from you would likely do more than an elixir."
"Give me a moment."
Yujun thought hard over whether any of his New-Generation Magic would take hold on Asilien.
And if there isn't one, I'll just make it.
Of course, that would be no easy work. Whipping up some spell or other was simple enough, but crafting magic fitted precisely to the moment boasted a difficulty that defied reason. A spell to halt a transformation into a monster already underway. Honestly, even Yujun couldn't get a feel for it yet.
KWA-KWA-KWA-BOOM! KWA-BOOM!
A spell came hurtling in from somewhere, and the building came down. Yujun's barrier kept everyone inside from taking so much as a scratch, but with the structure half-destroyed, they all dropped to the first floor. Paranet moved like lightning, caught Asilien in his arms, and landed.
"Nobody hurt?"
"I'm fine."
"I am unharmed as well."
"Master. Is this their assault?"
"Yeah. Demon God Worshippers."
"......I may kill them, yes?"
"Obviously. Roast them, fry them, burn them—do whatever you want."
"Those three I cannot manage, but crushing their bodies is easy enough."
"Good. Let's go, Paranet. I'll keep Asilien safe."
Nothing was more reassuring than Yujun saying he would protect someone. Paranet nodded and burst out of the building.
"Is it all right to leave it to Paranet alone?"
Manuela spoke with worry plain on her face.
"It's fine. He's gotten a lot stronger."
The breadth of Paranet's growth was astonishing even to Yujun. Of course, it had only been possible because Yujun had backed him to the hilt—and even that would have come to nothing if Paranet hadn't been a growth-type summon. On top of that, he had evolved several times. Among the undead, he might already stand in the highest rank. More than anything, the sight of that massive frame armed in top-tier Mythic items made it impossible not to trust him.
He deserves the chance to take his revenge himself.
"What is that thing?"
"Th-that's Shin Yujun's summon. Paranet. He's quite famous."
"I know that much. The problem is that he came out alone. There's no way Shin Yujun died in there, so where does that confidence even come from?"
Branch Head Deir was watching Paranet in puzzlement when the summon's form vanished.
Fwoosh! KWA-AANG!
In an instant Paranet appeared before one of Deir's men and drove his body straight into him. Thousand-Pound Drop, its rank risen through evolution, and Body Slam—before the combo of those two abilities, the Demon God Worshippers began to fall without a chance to resist. His stats alone were already overwhelming. He moved too fast for the eye to follow; the only recourse was to throw up shields in advance. The problem was that even layers of shields couldn't stop his Body Slam.
KWA-AANG!
"Gyaaah!"
"Isn't there a binding spell? Just stop him for a moment! Then we can attack!"
"Ghk!"
"All of you, just get out here! This is infuriating. I'll take him myself."
Deir stepped forward and pulled his men back. As Branch Head, he had climbed to the post on martial might alone rather than any other talent—what people called a field commander. Whether he had any gift for leadership was another matter, but he was strong even beside the other Branch Heads, and so his subordinates didn't easily resent him. For that same reason, the Demon God Worshippers felt a wash of relief. They were convinced that if Deir stepped in, he could hold off this undead—more imposing than an ogre, his blunt simplicity nothing but a disguise.
And their expectation was not far off the mark.
KWA-AANG! KWAANG!
The two clashed without pause, testing their strength, and neither gave an inch. More precisely, Paranet slammed his whole body forward, while Deir checked him with gauntlets and greaves. The same scene played out again and again, and the faces of the Worshippers, cheering at first, gradually darkened.
"When is he going to bring him down?"
"If it were the Branch Head as usual, he'd have finished this and come back already."
"He's not... losing, is he?"
"Are you insane? You ever seen Lord Deir lose to anyone? Our Branch Head is invincible. Invincible."
Some held that faith without question. Others did not. The few who had survived by luck, never meeting Paranet head-on, were the latter.
"We can't stop that."
"I shouldn't have joined. I should've gotten out of this job somehow."
"No believer tied up with Shin Yujun has ever come out of it well. This was inevitable."
Deir and Paranet were so evenly matched that the fight refused to settle. Paranet, being undead, never tired no matter how he poured on the attacks, and Deir, committing only the smallest motions to defense, was still in fine shape. Only, unnoticed by those watching, Deir was pouring cold sweat.
Take one solid hit and I'm dead.
He possessed a very high-grade trait, Diamantine Body, and so he could endure most attacks—but he knew that taking that giant's Body Slam head-on would leave him in pieces.
There's no opening.
Whenever he tried to counter, the thing slipped away like a ghost, and if he committed to a counterblow, he felt he would be the one to take the greater damage. But he couldn't show weakness here. Around him were not only enemies, but the cult's faithful, who believed in him and followed him.
"Aren't you curious what became of Asilien? Heh heh."
"I heard you tried to make her a monster."
Paranet forced the words out in a calm tone. A sneer curled at Deir's mouth.
"A monster? If she were merely a monster, that would be a mercy. We're going to make Asilien a host. From now on that woman won't even be able to move. She'll sit in some pitch-black building and endlessly birth horrific, powerful monsters."
"......"
His plan to provoke Paranet worked perfectly. From then on, the attacks of the summon who had been fighting so cleverly grew monotonous.
KWAANG! KWAANG!
The force of the Body Slam hadn't lessened, but the angles he closed in on were worse than before, and Deir turned them aside with far more ease. He even managed to rap Paranet's armor several times. It didn't amount to much, yet the fight had become entirely different from the one in which he had been pinned to the defensive, only blocking. Deir opened his mouth and began to jeer.
"The experiment was a success. Energy that ordinary players couldn't even withstand, Asilien accepted with ease. I can swear there is no body better suited to being a host than hers."
"And what do you want me to do about it?"
"Listen. This next part is what matters. No matter what you lot do from here, returning her to her original state is all but impossible. No. It is simply impossible."
"You're wrong. Master will fix Asilien somehow."
"Baseless faith, that. Truly pitiful. Sir Death Knight."
"You are the pitiful one. Even if you don't die to me here, you're fated to croak at Master's hands anyway."
"What...?"
Then Yujun appeared, together with Manuela, Yenil, and Asilien. Deir's eyes widened further at the sight of Asilien walking out unharmed.
"How?"
"Not telling."
Yujun drew his sword with a playful smile.
"You're a Branch Head too?"
"Yes. That one is the very man who abducted Asilien."
Paranet answered in his place.
"I heard everything from inside. He spelled it all out in the open. No need to interrogate him—works out nicely. Doesn't seem like some higher-up ordered this, either."
Yujun even raised an enormous barrier so the enemies couldn't flee. The preparations were complete.
"Paranet. You want to kill him yourself?"
"No. It's all right. It would only drag on for no reason..."
"Then I'll end it quickly. Asilien's condition isn't exactly good right now."
"Yes."
Yujun walked forward with the sword in hand, and the pressure rolling off him was no joke. He was as good as the cult's chief enemy, and yet not one of the Demon God Worshippers showed a spark of zeal.
"B-Branch Head! I think you need to use that!"
At his subordinate's words, Deir nodded. The first plan—making Asilien a host—had failed. He had thought no item could stop the mutation, and yet here they were. Unbelievable. Then it was time to move to the second plan.
"Detonate her."
"Understood."
What Deir had planted inside Asilien was not merely one thing.