Chapter 15
Chapter 15
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Translator: Vine
Chapter: 15
Chapter Title: An Unexpected Variable
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Francisca surveyed the city, her face hardening.
Not long after Allen had left, chimeras had attacked the city.
With the soldiers also gone, their forces were depleted. Naturally, chaos was bound to erupt.
The only saving grace was that the chimeras didn't seem to be of a particularly high level.
However.
‘There are too many of them.’
Two or three able-bodied men, once they regained their senses, could take down a single chimera. But their numbers were overwhelming.
Monsters appeared from all corners of the city, as if they had been hiding in plain sight.
No, to be precise…
‘Are these even chimeras?’
Their reverse-jointed legs and hooves were characteristic of mountain goats, but their upper bodies were a mishmash—gnolls? Goblins? They were all too different.
She made a swift judgment.
‘Fighting them one by one will result in too much damage.’
Magic erupted from her heart. The mana, in the form of a black mist, enveloped her, creating a dark domain.
Bizarre creatures extended from her mindscape.
At her gesture, the black mist coalesced, and summons straight out of a nightmare appeared.
-Kweeeek!
-Kieeeeee!
“Kill every chimera in the city.”
The summons, dripping with blue slime and brandishing dark green tentacles, scattered toward the sources of the commotion.
As she took a step, the remaining mist gathered, forming a horse-like summon.
The horse’s eyes were stitched shut with thread. Bumpy tentacles sprouted from its belly, a sight unsettling enough to make one grimace, and mouths all over its body gaped open and shut, revealing sharp teeth.
She anxiously glanced toward the mansion and mounted the creature.
“To the mansion. Quickly.”
The loud crash from the mansion had jolted her into action, but the chimeras blocking her path had delayed her.
*Please, let everything be alright.*
Francisca, already sensing a grim premonition, broke through the chaotic streets.
“A m-monster!”
“Get out of the way! Move!”
“Dammit, get lost! I said move!”
The summon’s horrifying appearance caused a brief panic, but it ironically cleared a path for her, shortening her travel time to the mansion.
As she galloped toward the estate, something of enormous size moved within the mansion grounds.
The chimera moved its massive body in an instant, darting swiftly toward the east gate. She watched it disappear into the distance, conflicted.
‘Should I chase it? But what if the two of them are still in the mansion?’
The lives of Linbelle and Inellia in the mansion were more urgent than pursuing that creature.
Having made her decision, Francisca summoned a single winged eyeball and sent it flying after the chimera.
-Flutter, flutter.
Fortunately, the chimera didn't seem to notice the familiar tailing it.
The mansion was quiet, a stark contrast to the chaotic city.
-Crunch, crunch.
A broken wall and a ruined garden. There was no sign of anyone.
‘Don’t tell me…’
She hastily activated her sensory perception, which spread out from her, allowing her to feel everything within a certain radius.
A collapsed wall, a wrecked interior, shattered stairs, and…
“Linbelle!”
Amidst the debris, she sensed a single figure.
Francisca rushed into the mansion and saw her, collapsed on the floor with a devastated expression.
“Are you alright? Do you recognize me?”
“…Lady Francisca.”
Francisca quickly checked her condition as she faced Linbelle.
“M-My mother…”
“It’s okay, everything will be okay. Alright?”
“A demon came, and my mother, she, she…”
As Linbelle stammered incoherently, Francisca pulled her into an embrace, comforting her.
Once she seemed to have calmed down somewhat, Francisca asked with an apologetic look.
“Linbelle.”
“Yes…”
Linbelle stared at her with empty eyes, as if recalling something.
“Could you please explain what happened?”
She spoke as gently as she could. Linbelle didn't look well, but the fact that Inellia was nowhere to be seen weighed heavily on her mind.
“I want to help you.”
“Well…”
The demon that had smashed through the mansion wall.
Inellia, who seemed to know the demon.
Her transformation into something like a fairy from a legend.
And.
“That demon…”
The fact that her mother had been taken away quietly because of her.
“…So that’s what happened.”
She spoke with a consistently calm—no, feignedly calm—voice. Francisca felt a chill run down her spine at the sight.
“I’ll take care of it from here.”
She closed her eyes.
She could feel her summons steadily reducing the number of chimeras.
‘The soldiers can handle the rest of the commotion.’
In that case.
She straightened Linbelle’s clothes and stood up.
“Linbelle, I’m sorry, but could you hide here for now?”
“…Me too.”
Linbelle whispered softly.
“…Please take me with you.”
“Linbelle, you know this is danger…”
“I know I’m being shameless. That I’ll just be a burden… But, Lady Francisca. Please…”
As if that were her only purpose.
Her empty eyes began to burn, fueled by hatred and desperation.
Francisca knew that look all too well.
She had worn it herself once.
There was a time when she had clung to that one single purpose.
“Please, I’m begging you…”
And so, she sighed and answered.
“Alright.”
“Please take me with… What?”
“I’ll allow it.”
Linbelle’s eyes, which had been shimmering with an eerie blue light, instantly widened like a startled rabbit’s.
“Get up, quickly. We don’t have time.”
“Y-Yes, ma’am!”
“Haaah…”
She wasn’t usually this soft-hearted.
But for Linbelle, of all people.
‘I suppose it can’t be helped.’
She deserved to see the end of this story. It would be a tragedy for her to be left out when her own mother was involved.
With her mind made up, she extended her hand.
Darkness gathered around her, writhing, and summoned a horse even more grotesque than the last.
A creature that looked like it had stepped out of the apocalypse.
The Pegasus-like summon had wings formed from tentacles on its back, and four eyes on either side of its belly blinked as they stared at her.
“Get on.”
“Wh-What is this…!”
Linbelle, who had been following Francisca with a blank expression, flinched and took a step back.
“Linbelle, you can’t ride a horse, can you? Let’s ride together.”
“W-Wait a moment. Aah-!”
Francisca forced the struggling girl onto the horse.
The summoned steed remained perfectly still, unfazed by the violent movements.
Once they were both mounted, Francisca closed her eyes and concentrated. After a moment, she turned the horse toward the east gate and spoke.
“Let’s go. Hold on tight. It might get a little bumpy.”
“Y-Yes… Aah!”
As they left the mansion, another commotion erupted. People screamed that a monster had appeared again, while others fled blindly to get away.
But thanks to that, the two of them were able to pass through the east gate without any hindrance.
The chaos in the city seemed to be subsiding, as soldiers could be seen moving quickly.
‘The chimeras weren’t that strong, so it should be cleaned up quickly.’
As they headed toward the mountain range, Francisca frowned at the foul stench that grew stronger.
Others might not notice it, but with her mana being close to darkness, she could feel it: the faint miasma of death emanating from deep within the forest.
Its distinct nature confirmed her suspicions.
‘Only a few things can cause a phenomenon like this. A sorcerer of the black magic school, or…’
A chimera master.
She had suspected it from the moment the chimeras appeared.
But to feel the miasma of death even at the forest’s entrance meant the sorcerer had been established here for quite some time.
“Let’s go faster. I have a bad feeling about this.”
And so, she urged her mount to go faster.
For a chimera master who had been lying low for so long to suddenly make a move was no ordinary event.
The trail of the subjugation force, whether by coincidence or design, matched the direction the chimera had taken.
‘Young Master Allen…’
Did he know about all of this?
She recalled the obsession that had shackled her for so long since childhood and moved in the direction the chimera had gone.
The sun, high in the sky, looked down upon them gently.
* * *
Legnol traversed the mountain range at high speed.
Perhaps because his movements were like a shadow, unaffected by obstacles, he passed through the dense forest as if it were a wide-open road.
Inellia kept pace with him, her speed not lagging behind his. She kept glancing back, as if unable to let go of her lingering attachments.
‘…Linbelle.’
From the moment she had revealed her true form, she knew she could never return to her normal life.
‘If it’s come to this, then.’
She couldn’t be sure if they would truly leave her daughter untouched. Given their nature, they were more likely to treat her as a new test subject.
So, to set at least her child free…
‘I have to do it.’
She had to uproot them herself. Her expression hardened with resolve.
Just then, Legnol abruptly stopped.
He scowled, as if something annoying had latched onto him.
“This is why I wanted to get away quickly. Tsk. I thought it was strange how fast they caught up… I was too slow to notice this.”
Legnol swung his hand, and a winged eyeball was caught in his grasp.
Splat-
He glanced at the squirming thing before crushing it flat.
“Inellia, go on ahead. It seems I must deal with our intruders.”
“I…”
Inellia hesitated. Could she escape while Legnol was gone?
Seeing her waver, Legnol shook his head as if to say it was already too late.
“This is His domain. Do you truly believe you can escape unscathed at this point?”
“…Yes. You’re right.”
At his words, Inellia conceded with a look of despair.
Legnol, satisfied with her answer, smiled and vanished in an instant.
Inellia moved toward the cave directly in front of her. Her twelve pairs of wings trembled, mirroring the state of her heart.
* * *
Allen led a hundred soldiers to the entrance of the Mikelant Mountains.
The dense trees of the mountain range cast long, dark shadows. The party’s marching speed was slow. It was unavoidable, as they had to maintain formation in case of an ambush.
‘Are we about halfway there?’
The forest was silent.
The fact that a forest, which should have been teeming with the vibrant energy of all sorts of creatures, was so quiet proved they were heading in the right direction.
The deeper they went, the more they were met with an eerie stillness devoid of wind and a desolate silence without even the chirping of insects.
Normally, a few monsters would have been drawn to the unavoidable noise of their march, but nothing blocked their path.
Thanks to this, the march proceeded at a steady pace, but the soldiers, sensing the strangeness, grew more tense and vigilant of their surroundings.
And so, Allen advanced, meticulously scouting the area.
“Northeast is clear! Nothing here.”
“Northwest is clear! Nothing to be found here either.”
“Southwest is clear! No entities following us.”
Allen closed his eyes as he received the rapid-fire reports from the scouts.
*How far have we come? About seventy percent of the way, I think.*
-Murmur, murmur.
As he was drawing a map in his head, he heard the soldiers murmuring.
“What’s going on?”
“I’ll go and check.”
At Allen’s question, a soldier on standby quickly moved toward the commotion. A moment later, the soldier returned with a troubled expression, accompanied by two women.
“…Miss Francisca?”
“Young Master.”
Allen instantly knew that something had happened. Linbelle’s expression was so chillingly blank.
‘Don’t tell me…’
She had changed into the version of her he remembered from the past, the one he had hoped to prevent.
“…It seems something has happened.”
Linbelle kept her lips sealed, staring into the depths of the forest, while Francisca also kept glancing in the direction they were headed.
‘What variable has appeared? Did I do something to cause this?’
He had acted first because he knew the future.
He had led the soldiers out to resolve the issue before any damage could occur, and it had only been two days since they arrived in the city.
It was too early for the repercussions of any variable to manifest.
‘The only difference from before is that Julius isn't here…’
Could that one thing have caused all this?
“Could you explain?”
The women quickly straightened their disheveled clothes and gave him a succinct summary of the events in the city.
“A chimera attack and Inellia’s abduction, you say…”
*Ha. So this is how it connects? Isn't this a bit too contrived?*
He had left Francisca in the city as a precaution, but he hadn’t actually thought something major would happen.
And yet, an incident had occurred as if it had been waiting for him to leave the city.
‘There’s definitely something going on.’
The mother of Linbelle, who had shown exceptional talent as a warrior before his regression, was connected to them, and they had attacked the city earlier than he remembered.
Just as the baron’s behavior had changed, something had changed about their actions as well.
Allen gave a faint smile.
*Julius, Julius. Just what in the world are you?*
*Kim Woojin from some strange world? Or perhaps the apostle of a fallen god?*
*What are you, that the future changes just because you didn’t act alongside me?*
As his silence stretched on, Linbelle called out to him faintly.
“Young Master…”
An eerie energy swirled faintly in Linbelle’s eyes.
It was a desperate yet chilling look, the face he had seen in his dreams.
The face he thought he would never see again, because he had changed the future.