Chapter 141
Chapter 141
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 141
Chapter Title: Tragicomedy - 3
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Neril tilted her head.
“You think you know?”
“No, but how is that even possible? Why is it possible?”
“What are you talking about? Explain in detail.”
“That’s something even I can’t do. Can you really get stronger just by doing that?”
Neril lightly flicked Adwin’s forehead.
Thwack!
It was an incredibly crisp sound.
“Ow!”
“Feeling better now?”
“No. I feel like I’m about to pass out...”
“Explain now.”
“That person—no, it’s not a person. She just opened the gate to the underworld.”
At those words, everyone’s heads tilted sideways.
Risel asked.
“The second finger means she’s a necromancer?”
“Probably? She didn’t chant any spells, though.”
“What does opening the gate to the underworld have to do with Kaild getting stronger?”
“She...”
He swallowed once.
“She’s feeding souls summoned from the underworld to Kaild’s soul.”
“What?”
“Ah, it might be better if you all see for yourselves.”
Adwin’s arm glowed brightly.
It was the same spell he’d used on me before.
A spell that lets even non-necromancers see souls.
Looking out over the battlefield through it revealed a completely different scene from before.
‘Yeah, now I get what he means.’
Every time Firensha snapped her fingers, dozens or hundreds of souls would appear from somewhere.
She sent the souls she summoned toward Kaild.
Kaild’s soul devoured them.
It wasn’t eating through a mouth like a physical meal, so “absorbed” might be more accurate.
Neril muttered.
“It’s my first time seeing souls directly. Amazing. So you always see scenes like this, kid?”
“Heh heh. Now you finally appreciate this body’s greatness.”
“Not even a little.”
“...”
“But souls normally make you stronger when absorbed?”
Adwin replied with a sullen expression.
“No idea at all. No necromancer has ever tested it. But since that’s what we’re seeing, we’ll just have to accept it.”
“Hmm.”
“It’s really awful. What happens to the souls eaten by Kaild like that... Do they never return to the underworld and just vanish completely?”
Probably.
We knew the answer but deliberately avoided saying it.
Because of his profession, Adwin was more sensitive to such things than others, and his face grew gloomy.
“Firensha’s power must come from Idria too, right?”
“Likely. Idria’s skilled enough at handling souls to even kidnap Lepia’s.”
“Sigh. We’ve sworn it a million times already, but Idria really needs to die.”
I agreed completely.
But only after securing Trail’s safety first.
[Don’t worry about me.]
‘Don’t worry about me worrying.’
[Maide.]
‘Let’s talk later. We have more urgent matters now.’
Just then, Adwin continued.
“The silver lining is that it’s temporary. Look, already.”
Adwin pointed toward Kaild.
Kaild’s soul swelled massively each time it absorbed a soul from Firensha.
But after a few minutes, it shrank back to normal.
Every time, Firensha snapped her fingers to summon new souls.
Jenia said.
“Good thing. If it kept getting stronger proportional to the souls fed, it’d be infinite power.”
“Yeah.”
“But why does it shrink?”
“Maybe it’s digesting and shitting them out?”
“...That makes sense, and it pisses me off.”
Adwin nodded vigorously.
“I think Maide’s right. You know a lot about necromancy, bro.”
“I’ve got a great necromancer as a teammate.”
“Oh. Ahem. Anyway, if my hypothesis is correct, there’s a limit to how much soul one person can absorb. Like how your stomach bursts if you overeat.”
So...
Even if Kaild got stronger, that was his limit?
Right after regression, maybe not, but now I could definitely win.
[Well done.]
‘I wasn’t bragging. It’s just creepy.’
[What is?]
‘Kaild’s soul has a small capacity, so it can only digest a few hundred at a time. But would Idria’s be the same?’
[......]
‘What if Firensha seriously offered Idria thousands or tens of thousands of souls?’
Trail fell silent, at a loss for words.
‘You already experienced it in Atrium territory.’
[Yeah. You mean when I missed the timing to use the Eye of Omniscience.]
‘Right. Firensha helped her then too.’
Back then, Firensha—at least in terms of quick thinking—had outdone even Bion, Idria’s nemesis.
We had to kill Firensha before settling things with Idria.
This wasn’t optional; it was essential.
[Even if Firensha dies, won’t Idria do the same? She’s the one who granted her that power anyway.]
‘Even if so, it’s fine. I’m not giving them the leisure to open the underworld’s gate mid-battle.’
Just then, Ophense spoke up.
“There’s one more piece of good news.”
“Hm?”
“Firensha can’t strengthen the monsters.”
“Oh. Right, monsters have no souls. She wants to feed them, but there’s no recipient.”
Idria couldn’t create souls.
That’s why her final plan was to exterminate humanity and kidnap their souls.
The monsters she made were just soulless puppets.
In the end, Firensha could only strengthen soul-bearing beings... aka the so-called “Kaild party members.”
Then Neril clapped lightly.
“Enough analysis. Shall we get started?”
“Oh.”
“If we wait longer, Kaild’s nose will pierce the heavens. I won’t see that even when dirt’s in my eyes.”
“Pfft. Yeah, let’s start.”
I pulled the Withering Jewel from my pocket and handed it to Neril.
She gripped it and tapped it lightly.
Soon, an invisible haze rose amid the monsters.
Neril said.
“The jewel gets to feast after so long.”
Kaild was lost in his own movements.
The sword’s speed. Power.
The vitality and confidence surging through his body.
‘Could I even beat Maide now?’
It was power gained through others’ help, but in Kaild’s mindset, that didn’t matter.
It just felt too good.
Getting stronger was great, but more than that...
‘More than that, this cheering.’
Cheering.
Huh?
No cheering.
Only then did Kaild realize.
He hadn’t been fighting for some time now.
He’d just been repeatedly stabbing and slashing meat hanging in a butcher shop.
‘Wh-what the hell!’
This had nothing to do with him getting stronger.
The monsters weren’t attacking Kaild at all.
They were lying flat on the ground.
Some had eyes rolled back completely, others with tongues lolling out long.
Then a voice pierced Kaild’s ears.
“You idiot! I said stop!”
“Huh.”
“I’ve been calling you over and over! What, earwax?”
It was Firensha.
Her voice was rough and sharp, unlike usual.
He turned around with trembling eyes.
There stood Firensha with a terrifying expression, like she’d just crawled out of hell.
“Hear me now?”
“Fi-Firensha. What’s going on?”
“Fuck. Stay put. I’m thinking how to salvage this.”
Firensha scratched her head wildly and called Idria.
-Mom. You watching?
-Yes.
-I’m really sorry. The monsters suddenly stopped obeying...
-It’s fine. Not your fault.
Idria let out a light sigh.
-It’s Maide.
-M-Maide’s here? Where?
-Up in the sky.
Firensha staggered.
-Agril? You mean he got Agril back?
-Seems so.
-No way, even if he got Agril back, how so fast?
-Don’t know. But that’s not the issue now.
Indeed.
Firensha perked up her ears.
She wasn’t much for combat, but as a finger of deceit, she could hear the soldiers’ voices atop the walls.
“What’s happening?”
“The monsters just collapsed on their own.”
“It’s like they’re sticking their necks out. Like they want to die.”
“And Kaild actually cut them down.”
“Any kid could kill monsters like that.”
Firensha’s lips quivered.
Kaild blanched as he overheard their murmurs.
“Why is this...”
“The Withering Jewel.”
“What?”
“She absorbed the monsters’ vitality with the jewel!”
“Y-you, raise the monsters again. Give them strength. Like how you made me stronger.”
Impossible.
Monsters had no souls.
No matter how gourmet the dish, without an eater, it’s just trash.
She racked her brain every which way, but no solution came.
Firensha’s face crumpled.
‘Did I ruin it? Mom’s plan?’
Firensha got along well with the other fingers of deceit.
She’d even teased Consumer or Hyren behind Idria’s back.
Karma, maybe.
Tearing up, she sought Idria.
Like a child with scraped knees calling for mom.
-Mom. I-I...
-Come back.
“Huh? No! If we retreat now, Maide will show up.
And stir up the territory folk to his taste.
About why the monsters didn’t attack Kaild.
He’ll shout that Idria and Kaild are in cahoots.
With such clear evidence right before their eyes, they’ll all buy it hook, line, and sinker.
-Even so, come back. It’s dangerous there.
-But...
Just then.
It happened.
Sizzle.
A crack suddenly split the empty air.
It created a rift.
Continentals now knew monster invasions came from such rifts.
The power of space.
Idria had already shown spatial powers to territory folk in Atrium and Gavril.
The news spread across the continent via communication orbs and official documents.
So the soldiers could only cry out.
“Demon King!”
Demon King Idria spoke clearly from beyond the space.
“That’s enough. Kaild. It’s all out in the open.”
Neril tucked the jewel away.
“Feels bloated for some reason.”
“Good. I’ll use it for life.”
“Depends on how brutal the fights ahead are. Anyway, heading out?”
Before answering, I glanced down.
Kaild was still slashing at fallen monsters, out of it.
Trance state?
Firensha was screaming in horror behind him, but he didn’t seem to hear.
“Kaild’s helping us. Buys us more time.”
“Still, hurry.”
“Yeah. Ophense, take care.”
As I spoke, Ophense had already shifted into my face.
He rubbed his throat and replied in “Maide Mohan’s” voice.
“Won’t they notice?”
“Feels like looking in a mirror.”
“No. But this sorcery got spotted by you once.”
Thanks to Blood Letters.
I patted his shoulder lightly.
“Don’t worry. Change my voice too.”
“It’ll hurt.”
“Have to endure.”
Ophense shrugged and placed his hand on my throat.
‘Urk. Feels like my uvula’s twisting like a wet towel.’
[A fresh expression.]
‘Honest one.’
Soon he pulled away.
“Didn’t scream once.”
“Close call.”
The voice replying wasn’t “Maide Mohan’s.”
It was very familiar.