Chapter 12
Chapter 12
12
EP6 - The Witch of the Graveyard (1)
【 Rebecca, First Year of the Hidden Dragon Society: "There's no need for that. Technology is so good these days that even corpses can talk." 】
【 Maid Heart: "……!" 】
【 Rebecca, First Year of the Hidden Dragon Society: "I wonder, what kind of curse did I put on my Veil?" 】
At the edge of the [Script]'s influence. I hid behind a tree and watched the situation unfold.
Including the result.
I didn't particularly intend to judge anything. However, I confirmed that my decision not to enter the Hidden Dragon Society was correct.
┃ Relationship Increased: Rebecca [2] (▲2)
┃ Reward: Star Fragment × 2
The reward was good.
< Star Fragments Held: 12 >
Star Fragments gradually accumulated.
I decided to return home for now.
Then, a question suddenly arose.
'Do they cremate the bodies after the funeral?'
This is something to think about.
Cursed corpses often cause problems.
But Rebecca attended every funeral each week, and she did so for the entire first semester.
Considering the population of Zone 0, where approximately 20 people die each week... Even with a rough calculation, there would be at least 600 coffins.
And if those corpses, imbued with high-level [Curses] that could even deceive priests, were not cremated?
A big problem could arise.
So, I returned to the cathedral.
'There it is.'
Fortunately, I happened to find them moving coffins onto a carriage.
I joined the weeping crowd and followed the carriage.
Before I knew it, it was night.
After walking for a while, the carriage separated from the crowd at a certain point and headed towards the cemetery.
As expected, the coffins were buried instead of cremated.
But the burial location was strange.
It wasn't the cemetery.
According to the sign, the cemetery was a good 2 km further away.
For reference, Hiaka Academy is a satellite city near the capital, with a population of 300,000.
Zone 0 of the Assassination Studies Department has only about 4,000 Students, but the resident population exceeds 40,000.
The overall scale is closer to a city than a campus.
Anyway.
Why are they burying the bodies in abandoned land?
After the bereaved families left.
I grabbed a worker and asked.
"Well... Actually, we used the cemetery until last year. But strange things have been happening there since the beginning of this year."
"Strange things?"
"Hmm. I don't know exactly... But it seems like some kind of monster started appearing."
On campus?
"Did the faculty leave it unattended?"
"Well, I don't know about that..."
The worker flinched slightly, perhaps because of my assassin-like appearance. Then, a senior worker approached. 'What's going on?' he asked, and the worker explained the situation.
"Ah, you mean the Star Gazing Mountain cemetery? The space there has become a bit strange."
"Space? You said monster earlier."
"There's a strange monster living in that strange space. The dean and a few professors went there, but they decided to just leave it alone. Instead, they decided to move the cemetery outside."
That's unusual.
Then, the senior worker whispered.
"I heard... there's a witch there."
"A witch?"
"That's right! But strangely enough, that witch doesn't come out or kill people. So, they decided to leave it alone."
"……."
He continued to talk, with an expression that showed he was enjoying the pleasure of telling a mysterious and wonderful story.
No one really knows the witch. Some people said it was more of a monster. A Student who went there for fun, or one of the chief professors who tried to attack it, got hurt. He rattled off stories like that.
I thought of something similar to a witch being summoned in a graveyard. There were three types, all of which were monsters that appeared in dungeons.
But Hiaka Academy has the Blessing of Peaceful Star☮, so there are no dungeons.
"The witch of the graveyard..."
My confusion grew.
If the time of discovery was early this year.
It seems to overlap with the time Rebecca entered the school.
I decided to go there myself.
So, I called Adele, explained the general situation, and decided to take a car to Star Gazing Mountain.
Adele was puzzled.
"Star Gazing Mountain is a restricted area, isn't it?"
"If anyone says anything, just say we went there for research."
"Hmm... If the witch is hostile, are you going to assassinate her?"
I don't know.
I don't know that.
That's why I'm going. Because I don't know.
I'm a veteran of this game.
There's almost nothing I don't know.
Of course, I don't know about characters like Kaiser and Elise, who were added in the [DLC].
But I know everything about all the events Kaiser mentioned (ex: founding the Assassination Squad, assassinating the Emperor).
And I know so much about Elise's family, the 'Ksikos County'.
Now that game knowledge has been converted into reality through <Synchronization>. I need to know all the basic interactions of this world.
But there's something I don't know.
There, on Star Gazing Mountain.
"Hmm~ Ah, we're almost there."
But. While Adele was humming, I saw red dots on the [Mini-map].
There were quite a few of them.
And they were gradually heading towards the front of the road.
'Red dots' that don't represent hostile people refer to monsters.
"Adele. Stop the car here for now."
"Why?"
"It seems like there are monsters. I'll go alone. You should drive a little faster and shake off the monsters."
"Ah, I understand."
I got out and climbed the mountain path.
『 World Fabrication: Shape Fabrication [Car] 』
Then, I used [Illusion] to make the car move again.
As a result, the hesitant red dots began to move.
'I don't know how to use [Stealth], but...'
The reason I poured a whopping 1,000 points into [Illusion] is.
To be able to cope with any situation.
『 World Fabrication: Shape Fabrication [Black Dome] 』
『 World Fabrication: Phenomenon Fabrication [Forest Scent] 』
Erasing the smell and shape.
Hiding in the Black Dome, I looked out through a small gap.
In the distance, monsters running like beasts were chasing the car.
The identities of those guys are.
● Ghoul
Undead born in tombs, eating curses and growing by devouring corpses.
'This... is caused by Rebecca's curse.'
That was highly likely.
Probably, if people appeared, they would hide in the nearby ground.
When people disappeared, they would head to a new tomb.
Then, they would enjoy the freshly supplied food.
'The Ghoul's attention has been drawn to the vehicle, so...'
The moment I thought that.
A red dot appeared on the [Mini-map].
Right behind me.
-
Krrr...
I turned around and was horrified.
A grotesquely shaped monster, 2m tall, with a hunched upper body and exposed spine, raised its head.
It was a [Natural Summoning].
Undead are created naturally by devouring curses.
Why did it have to be born behind me?
-
Krrrrr...
I held my breath.
The guy must be hungry since he was just born.
But it didn't seem to be able to find me because of the [Black Dome] and [Forest Scent].
-
Krrrrrrrrr...
Nevertheless, it kept wandering around, as if sensing something that detected the tender flesh of a weak human.
Ah, but.
Come to think of it, there was no need to be afraid.
I had something prepared in advance for days like this.
'Crusade, move out.'
『 World Fabrication: Phenomenon Fabrication [Radiance] 』
『 World Fabrication: Shape Fabrication [Priest] 』
『 World Fabrication: Shape Fabrication [Inquisitor] 』
『 World Fabrication: Shape Fabrication [Paladin] 』
『 World Fabrication: Shape Fabrication [Saintess] 』
『 World Fabrication: Shape Fabrication [Angel] 』
⋮
Holy light split the sky. Miraculously, the shape of the crusader knights appeared on the spot.
First, a Priest emitting brilliant Radiance. Next, an Inquisitor wielding cruel twin swords.
Then, a Paladin appeared, his armor and shield radiating holiness with sacred light.
With that kind of feeling, even the Saintess and the Angel, a collection of giant eyeballs, descended to earth.
Meanwhile, the surprised Ghoul suddenly straightened its back and pretended to be a tree, hiding in the forest.
"Huh? It's a Ghoul!"
-
Krrk? (How did you know?)
"Run! Catch it!"
"Catch that bastard!!"
In that way, the illusionary adult crusaders rushed in and chased away the poor baby Ghoul...
'The path is open.'
Finally, I secured safety and climbed the ridge.
And in the middle of the plain on the ridge.
I found the cemetery.
Beyond it, I found the 'strange space' that the worker had mentioned.
I could tell at a glance.
Because it was so strange.
'……What the hell is that.'
At the center of the cemetery was.
A pitch-black sphere.
It wasn't easy to see because it was night, but when I lowered my posture and used the stars as a backdrop, I could see it clearly.
A pitch-black, light-absorbing, giant sphere was in front of me.
Like a black hole that was about 1/3 submerged in the ground.
'…….'
It's not a dungeon.
It's not magic or supernatural power.
It's not a [Curse] either.
Even the status window doesn't appear.
'What the hell is that...?'
I went closer.
Then, I measured its width.
It was really incredibly wide. It seemed like it would cover an entire mountain peak. If I calculated it, the diameter would be about 1,000m.
Can I go in?
Just as I was about to carefully touch the black membrane with my hand.
Suddenly, a 「⧉Tip」 popped up.
───
⧉ Tip: It is an [Error Space]. This is a space where an error has occurred and will be patched in a future update. Detailed information will be provided when a schedule is set.
───
This was... an unexpected message.
I thought it was an element I didn't know.
'Bug? Update?'
I knew that this was in a game.
But suddenly, words that would only be used in a real game, like bug or update...
'Ah, my hand is in...'
In the meantime, one of my hands was inside the black sphere, the [Error Space].
I pulled it out and it came out.
There was no obstruction.
So, I carefully put my head in.
There was no problem either.
Inside the [Error Space] was a cemetery.
'The black sphere feels like it's just drawing a boundary.'
Slowly, I took a step.
And I started climbing the mountain.
On the uphill road, I saw something strange. When I fabricated and illuminated it with [Radiance], it was the wreckage of completely broken weapons.
'There were some attempts to suppress it.'
Until the area was closed.
The dean, chief professors, or Students came and got destroyed.
But the dean of the Assassination Studies Department, Shaman Kreutz, is an assassin of the [Challenger] rank and the strongest in the kingdom.
To use the Hidden Dragon Society as an example, no matter how good they are, they would all die within 1 minute in a 1:7 fight against him.
'Even he couldn't easily assassinate it and left it alone.'
Even in the midst of all that, the witch didn't kill people.
Sometimes, she even avoided them.
Why did she avoid them?
...That monster over there, I mean.
Right in front of me.
About 20m ahead. On top of a tomb larger than other tombs.
Something covered in dirty rags was sitting there. With its back to the moonlight.
True to the name of witch, it was in the shape of a person.
As I approached, 'it' turned its head towards me. I stopped at a reasonable distance.
"……."
"……."
I could see why some people called it a 'monster'.
It didn't feel like a person.
A dangerous feeling, as if I had encountered a strange bird.
In the darkness, the opponent was looking at me with blue eyes in the hood.
Meanwhile, for some reason, a posture that reduces vigilance when meeting a strange dog came to mind.
I slowly squatted down diagonally.
I gave the opponent time to figure me out.
Then, I checked the name tag.
● Eve Curse of Oblivion
The name is Eve.
It's a name I don't know.
It means that she is a character included in the new [DLC].
Next to the name, 'curse' is written.
Curse of Oblivion... It is a curse that is forgotten from the memories of the world and people. It was a super high-level [Curse] that only high-ranking demons could cast.
'Is that why the information is written vaguely?'
I could see the jawline and lips in the hood right away.
Even the ankles and white bare feet were visible under the hood.
Nevertheless, there was no specific expression of 'person'.
Those who remember even a fragment seem to have expressed it as a 'witch'.
Soon, Eve began to approach me.
Getting off the big tomb. Slowly.
It was a little scary because it was night.
But I waited.
And so, when I finally got closer.
My [Radiance] slightly illuminated the face in the hood.
Unexpectedly, I saw the face of a woman around twenty years old.
It was the same as when I saw Rebecca.
A face that was a little, almost absurdly, beautiful.
Long sky-blue hair and clear, lake-like blue eyes. A white and beautiful face that the dirt and dust couldn't hide.
But it wasn't the time to be admiring unnecessarily.
At this time, if I felt a brief illusion, it was a gaze as if a huge monster was looking down at me. A feeling of sinking into a deep blue swamp.
Eve slowly bent down and squatted in front of me.
Then, she raised her head.
As if observing.
Then, the height of the gaze changed.
I wanted to know the potential.
I need to make contact.
I wasn't sure if I could move yet.
For some reason, [Script] didn't even appear for Eve.
I slowly reached out my hand. With my palm showing. If I touched her clothes, I would be able to see the status window.
Then, Eve tilted her head. She blocked my hand with her palm.
As if telling me not to touch her.
Then, she curled up the hand that had touched me and took it away. It was a clear sign that she didn't even want to be touched.
But that was enough.
───
Eve Lemontree [3.0]
───
...A shocking number was floating there.