174. A Minor Problem
174. A Minor Problem
"Isn't that the thing the Pnasensia people use?"
[Uh... I think maybe it was? Hmm... It was so long ago, my memory's a little fuzzy.]
Sparkle said the memory was fuzzy, but I knew it clearly. After all, for me it was only a few decades ago.
And among those memories, it was an especially intense one.
After rescuing the humans who had been held captive in Ge Vihenum, we had taken them to the Holy Kingdom first, following the various procedures. The reason was that they needed to be interrogated and verified.
Brainwashing by the Demons, Demonic Energy bombs planted in their bodies, corruption, the possibility of being latent Demonized Humans, and so on.
It was a step to investigate all sorts of things, so we didn't resist and handed them over to the Holy Kingdom.
When all the people we had rescued were gathered at the Holy Kingdom's Grand Temple, the priests deployed the barrier Sparkle had just mentioned. A barrier that awakened and amplified dormant Demonic Energy.
And then an incident erupted.
Of the 172 humans we had rescued, 30 percent were bombs, 20 percent had been brainwashed, and 50 percent awakened as Demonized Humans.
Every single person we had rescued had been turned into a tool of the Demons. In the process, thirty priests died, two hundred thirty believers died, and two Cardinals' heads burst.
That's why I remember.
What that barrier is used for.
But why is a barrier like that deployed here? I hadn't seen any priests. The academy wasn't behind it. And to deploy a barrier of that scale, you need quite a lot of priests.
So the Holy Kingdom made a move?
For what?
If we're talking about a human carrying Demonic Energy...
Ophelia Blumin.
Ophelia, who is in the process of becoming the Puppet Emperor's Elixir, carries faint Demonic Energy in her body.
Did they deploy the barrier to speed that up?
No. Ophelia is at a different exam site.
It's not a barrier for Ophelia. Then, why?
"Sparkle."
[Hm?]
I brushed the almond powder off the corner of her mouth and handed her a new almond.
"Around here... no, wait. Among the students, were there any... you know, ones carrying Demonic Energy or something?"
Crunch crunch— Sparkle, who had been munching on almonds, shook her head side to side.
[Not yet... I don't think there are, but honestly, I'm not sure either. I mean, this place is saturated with the Demonic Energy of Gluttony, right? So my senses are a little tangled too...]
"If even you can't sense it, then other humans don't stand a chance."
[Right. No one but Luna could sense it.]
"...Well then, nothing we can do about it."
If only I had a Sacred Relic in hand, it would've been better than now... I clicked my tongue in regret and let out a sigh.
[...What? Why are you looking at me like that?]
"Lately there sure are a lot of brats making a fuss over my eyes."
[Ronan, that's because your eyes are completely impure.]
"How exactly am I looking at you?"
[The eyes you used to look at that broken Artifact and the eyes you used to look at me were exactly the same. You... don't tell me you're thinking of me as a Demonic Energy detector?]
Sparkle, who had been eating almonds, stared at me with a shocked expression.
[If that's true... I think I'd be really upset.]
"Stop saying that 'upset' crap."
It made Adelia pop into my head for no reason, and that put me in a bad mood.
Ah.
Now that I think of it, Adelia.
Does Adelia not know about this barrier?
The Demonic Energy in her body would be writhing. Could she really not know?
-I'm only keeping an eye on her for her protection.
I had asked why she was watching Eurasia.
The answer that came back was that it was to protect her.
There are things targeting Eurasia.
They might pull some pointless stunt during this exam.
I had thought it was to protect her from that.
But there's a barrier that amplifies Demonic Energy.
Would Adelia not have known?
If she did know.
The amplification of Demonic Energy, and the problems it would cause.
The protection of Eurasia.
The people who had become Demonic Energy bombs in the past came to mind. The sight of them becoming Demonized Humans, their skin turning inside out, was vivid before my eyes. The sound of the brainwashed ones tearing and eating the flesh of believers brushed past my ears.
We killed them. We killed the brainwashed people. Those people didn't let out a single scream when they died. We killed the people whose bodies swelled as they became bombs. They begged us to kill them.
The people who became Demonized Humans. Their consciousness remained. With perfectly lucid consciousness, they killed people, devoured them, wept tears of blood, and let out tearing screams.
We killed them.
We had no choice but to kill them.
They couldn't even leave last words. Their bodies couldn't be returned to their families. The corpses of Demonized Humans. We couldn't show them.
After that, there were no more humans rescued from the Demon World.
We didn't rescue them. We deployed a barrier through Luna's miracle, and saw that every human had been turned into a tool.
We killed them all.
Carrying Demonic Energy that hasn't been accepted means.
It means you've become a tool of the Demons. They are beings who can no longer be called human. If left alive, the damage grows. In a sense, they're more dangerous than Demons.
So they must be killed.
[Ronan.]
Boop— Sparkle's soft paw pad touched my nose.
[Your face looks scary.]
"...My face always looks like this."
Ridiculous.
If that were true... Sparkle would have noticed.
There's no way Sparkle, who spent all her time wandering around inside Eurasia's clothes, wouldn't know.
[I think I have a rough idea what you're thinking, Ronan, but it's okay. There are no 'humans like that' around you, like in the past.]
"Yeah."
Blood flowed from my right hand where my nails had dug in. Before it could fall to the ground, Sparkle's light flashed.
The blood vanished and the wound closed.
"You've improved quite a bit."
[It's thanks to all the Elixirs you fed me, Ronan.]
As if she thought Pina's power growing meant she herself had gotten stronger, Sparkle puffed out her chest.
[Still, I'm no match for Luna...]
"Trying to compete with miracles is shameless."
[The power of spirits is a kind of miracle too, you know? The World Tree who embraces us is like a god to us.]
"That's true. I'd rather put my faith in the World Tree lady than in Yurphia, whose existence I'm not even sure of."
[Still, as long as Holy Power exists, you can't just deny it entirely, can you?]
"Who knows. I... think it's not much different from Mana."
Startled, Sparkle quickly glanced around.
[Ronan... if you say things like that carelessly, you'll be branded an apostate. Do you want to be chased by the Executors?]
The Executors.
They're the heresy judges of the Pnasensia Holy Kingdom.
Not inquisitors—judges. They hand down verdicts of apostate and heretic on their own authority, then carry out summary executions on the spot. They're insane in every possible way.
"You think those fanatic Executor bastards could kill me?"
[...You're weak right now, Ronan.]
"Even so, I can beat those insect fanatic bastards."
[There's no harm in being careful. You're alone right now, Ronan.]
"Being alone doesn't change anything."
With a soft sigh, Sparkle scurried up onto the top of my head.
[Ronan, you need to tone down your personality a bit.]
"Sparkle. Don't you think my current personality is toned down enough already?"
[Well... that's true... Compared to your Past Life, it really... really really does seem like you've become a completely different person! But still, wouldn't it be better to tone it down just a little more?]
"If I hold back any more, I'll die of a stress-induced illness."
There are too many things attached to the name Eustetia.
Dad and Mom too. Uncle. Sara. Eurasia.
The servants working at the main house, the Knight Order.
The people living in the Duchy.
In my Past Life, I had nothing to lose.
But now, I have too much to lose.
[Still, be careful, Ronan... As you know, the scariest and most troublesome things are humans.]
"I'd know that better than anyone."
Chuckling, I rose from my spot.
[When you go to the Holy Kingdom, make sure to take me with you.]
Sparkle, who had roughly caught on, whispered softly and then erased the light wrapped around her body.
"Without you, Luna won't recognize me, so of course I have to take you."
[Is that the only reason?]
"Enough. If you sense anything suspicious, make sure to tell me."
[Tch... Fine. Be careful, Ronan.]
I waved my hand and moved forward.
In less than a minute, I ran into roughly fifteen students.
Hurnt activity uniforms.
They looked like stray dogs, soaked to the bone and filthy, as if they'd been wandering in the rain.
Six boys and five girls.
Their levels were all about the same.
Judging by their gait, their expressions, and their mannerisms—commoners. Lower-class commoners at that.
"You came looking for me?"
"...Eliarnes Eustetia."
"Yeah. That's me."
"I... we had no choice."
"So?"
"If... if you're going to hurt us, at least don't touch our families..."
The male student standing at the very front dropped to his knees and slammed his head to the ground.
I stared blankly at the sight for a moment.
"What's with this bastard? You came here to take me down, and now you're slamming your head on the ground? What kind of nonsense is that?"
"I'm sorry. Really..."
"Why would I touch your families? Cut the bullshit. If you came to take me down, then do it. Don't waste time with cheap sympathy plays."
I clenched my fist with just enough force. I had no intention of beating them so hard they'd spend the rest of their lives half-crippled.
"And you—how can a guy have so little pride? If it were me at your age, I'd just—ugh, what's the point of talking. Cut your dick off, you bastard."
The ten students who had followed behind stared blankly. The representative who had slammed his head down also raised his head.
"...What do you mean by that...?"
"When I was your age, I charged at whoever it was first, you bastard."
At eighteen, I charged at Gulaka.
"Kids these days have no romance."
Muttering quietly, I immediately kicked off the ground.
*****
"...My lady?"
"Hm?"
"What... is all this?"
"This is breakfast, this is a machete they handed out as supplies, this is a shovel, this is a bow, and this is drinking water."
"These aren't ours..."
"They're ours from now on."
Eurasia blinked.
Behind her, Silina, who had gotten up groggily, tilted her head.
"...Why didn't— ahem. Hm... Why didn't you wake me?"
"I woke up in the middle of it and just kept going. Now, since you're up, hurry and get ready so we can head out."
"Heading out... I get that, but what... is all this?"
As if she still hadn't fully woken up, Silina's voice cracked.
"Spoils of war."
"...Spoils of war?"
Chuckling, I got up from my spot and checked my bracelet.
430 points.
The 30 points at the end were from killing Monsters on the way up yesterday, and the 400 points in front were points I took from those eleven yesterday.
Still, I didn't eliminate them completely.
I left them 2 points each—22 points for eleven people. That's how generous a person I am.
I transferred the points accumulated on my bracelet to my four teammates, then stretched and walked out of the cave.
"Hngyaaah... Hnngh... It's a decently nice day."
The rain had stopped.