Chapter 217
Chapter 217
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 217
Chapter Title: Dissecting Disease
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Loan stared intently at the dark priest's eyes and expression.
He listened quietly to the rough beating of his heart.
He could even hear the sound of sweat drops falling from his pores, swept away by the Convection and vaporizing within.
Loan freed only his mouth.
Even though some of the pressure from his bonds was released, he didn't take a deep breath or make a sound—
"Ugh."
Instead, he clenched his jaw and threw his head back as far as it would go.
It was a desperate struggle to get away from the green mass.
Loan asked.
"You seem to know what this is."
"…"
"It's okay to talk. I'm talking, aren't I?"
"…"
"If you don't talk, I'll make you eat it."
"Ah…"
The dark priest, finally opening his mouth, mumbled softly as he spoke.
"It is the authority of Marbas, is it not?"
"Authority… Yes, that's right. Marbas made it like this. He turned your colleague, who was once human, and then a human with a demon inside, into this. You seem quite afraid of it, too."
"Touching that means inevitable death. There's nothing to be done."
Loan recalled the moment his own Convection had dissipated and gave a small nod.
"Yes. It seems to be a rather unique ability. That's why I'm planning to study it a bit."
"But it's dangerous..."
"Tell me how it's dangerous. That way, I can be careful, and I can look out for your safety a little more, too."
"…"
The dark priest was at a loss for words.
Safety.
Safety, after he'd been bound by some strange art for two days, unable to move a muscle, forced to smell his own filth while suspended in the air.
But the thought that he might suffer a worse fate if he didn't speak now flashed through the dark priest's mind.
Besides, there was a woman in the carriage said to be even more ruthless than this cruel man.
The answer came pouring out.
"Marbas is called the Lord of Disease."
"The Lord of Disease? You mean he's a demon who rules over sickness?"
"Yes. They say he acts as a chairman in the demon world, and the reason he could command other demons is likely his ability to spread diseases that even other demons find difficult to counter."
"So this green substance causes disease?"
"Imagine all the diseases of the world, gathered and concentrated in one place. From the common cold to fatal, incurable illnesses whose origins are unknown."
"Horrifying."
"Indeed."
"So he uses disease like a poison. A plague-toxin, you could say."
"Probably…"
"Is that how he became an Apostle?"
At Loan's question, the dark priest's brow furrowed.
As someone who had hoped to become an Apostle himself, he seemed to feel a sense of resentment.
Loan prodded him lightly.
"Marbas told me there are twelve Apostles. And that the number won't increase. Is that right?"
"…"
Judging by his expression, it seemed to be true.
For some reason, he didn't like that Marbas had told him the plain truth.
A mischievous look crossed Loan's face.
"But you know... I'm only telling you this... but it seems one of the Apostles died. Killed by the Union. That means there's a vacancy, so maybe you have a chance?"
"…"
The dark priest's eyes widened.
Loan shook his head slightly and sealed the man's mouth again with Convection.
"In your state? What's the point of hoping?"
Then, without giving the man another glance, he focused his attention on the plague-toxin.
*'The totality of disease.'*
Regardless of whether it was possible, it was indeed a terrifying substance.
For now, he was containing it with high-speed Convection, condensing it so it couldn't flow or move, which might be why it had lost its initial form and become this concentrated mass.
As the dark priest had said, he needed to be careful about exposing it completely.
For a moment, Loan quietly observed the plague-toxin itself.
He then began to formulate various hypotheses in his mind and devise ways to prove them.
Whirrrr—
His Circles spun as if they were running wild.
More than just drawing in mana, more than just pushing his physical strength beyond its limits.
The Circles had a profound effect on his thinking as well.
Still, it wasn't easy.
Loan, who could usually process four or five lines of thought at once, was dealing with something he had never handled before.
Because it was a substance he hadn't been able to completely subdue even when facing it directly, the scope of his thoughts had to be excessively broad.
*'If I had more Circles, could I broaden the scope of my thoughts? And shorten the time it takes?'*
Mulling over such hopeful thoughts for which he knew no method, Loan spent a considerable amount of time.
He was grateful for the cold winter wind cooling his overheated mind as he reached a conclusion from his focused observation.
*'Its movement is different from mana. The particles are larger, too. It's not just simple rotation or cohesion; it's as if it's alive, repeating a cycle of combination, replication, and division on its own.'*
He had observed its physical properties and characteristics enough. Now it was time to test his hypotheses.
Loan minutely adjusted the Convection containing the green substance.
Shhhk— Sssk?
First, he created five barriers inside, dividing the green substance into six pieces of uniform size.
He then separated the six pieces, keeping only one nearby.
Watching Loan move the plague-toxin this way and that with a mere flick and a whoosh, just by sitting and observing, the dark priest's eyes widened again.
Loan didn't miss the sound of his heart beating.
It was true he found it somewhat amusing when there was someone to watch and be amazed, and he might even glean some clue from the man's reaction.
Focus.
*'First, I've confirmed that pure Convection can only handle the plague-toxin if it has the property of wind.'*
By dividing the plague-toxin into six pieces, he had already succeeded in his first experiment.
When Loan had been caught off guard fighting the creature, it was because he had used Convection directly.
In other words, when he tried to block or attack using Convection itself, the mana comprising the Convection was broken down by the plague-toxin.
A moment ago, when attempting the separation, Loan hadn't cut the substance with Convection itself, but rather with the subtle wind pushed by the Convection—he had induced a momentary change in mana to slice through the substance.
The displaced mana was broken down by the plague-toxin, but he had succeeded in cutting it with minimal force.
*'I need to develop more wind-based magic.'*
Using existing spells was fine, but based on the last encounter, the response speed was a bit lacking.
Not knowing what kind of opponents he might face in the future, it would be good to have a spell he could cast reflexively, in an instant.
Loan immediately tested the fire attribute, which had been effective when fighting Marbas, on the second piece of the plague-toxin.
Fwoosh?
He created a tiny flame within the Convection, cut off another piece of the plague-toxin, and made them collide.
The first flame was a vivid red. The lowest temperature.
Perhaps because the heat wasn't intense enough, the plague-toxin didn't completely disappear.
Instead, in the instant it drew near, he could see the plague-toxin's movements suddenly become more active, perhaps due to the rise in ambient temperature.
After making full contact with the fire, however, its movements subsided.
In that time, he was able to more clearly confirm what effect the fire had on the plague-toxin.
The part of the plague-toxin in contact with the flame underwent a change in form before it was annihilated.
*'As I thought, the plague-toxin has the power to alter the properties of mana.'*
If so, it was easier to think of the plague-toxin as a type of mana itself, another attribute.
Taking this as his main premise, Loan gradually raised the temperature of the flame and carefully observed the changes in the plague-toxin.
When the flame turned a searing blue from the extreme heat, affecting even the Convection, the second piece of the plague-toxin vanished completely.
*'Fire-attribute magic is certainly useful against the plague-toxin.'*
However, there was a time lag, and the corrupted mana generated during combustion scattered into the surroundings, so he needed to be careful.
Next, Loan applied water-attribute magic to the third piece of the plague-toxin and observed the changes.
When it met the water droplet, Loan had to focus his mind a little more to observe the mana more clearly.
While its movements had generally become more active when the temperature rose, when it touched water, some parts became active as they mixed, while others slowed down.
It didn't completely dissolve into the water-attribute mana or transform into a new form.
It simply mixed, increasing its overall volume.
Thanks to that, it felt like the danger had relatively increased.
*'Dissolving poison in water for mass killing is a classic method. I should consider disease to be equivalent.'*
He soon confirmed that its vaporized form was slightly more dangerous, and that its movements could be controlled at extremely low temperatures.
Casting a freezing spell like [Guardian of Frost] had been a very good decision, even in hindsight.
Next, Loan tried applying the attributes of minerals and earth to see their effect on the plague-toxin.
He confirmed that, depending on the amount of plague-toxin, the range of damage could be limited to some extent.
Burying the remaining corpses in the village deep in the ground instead of burning them had been the best possible course of action in that situation.
After that.
He tried using sound to affect the plague-toxin, but he didn't achieve any particular results.
Using extreme vibrations to generate heat was inefficient. Moreover, since sound has the property of spreading mana, it had poor compatibility with the plague-toxin.
"Hoo…"
Now, only the last piece remained.
It was time to test lightning, the decisive magic that had flustered Marbas and made him flee.
Loan further subdivided the piece of plague-toxin, placed it between his palms, and generated a series of sparks to observe the changes.
In truth, this was not an easy task even for Loan.
It wasn't that observing the plague-toxin's changes was difficult, but that observing the movement of lightning itself was.
It was beyond the speed of his senses.
However, the results were as hopeful as he had experienced.
When he struck it with a series of small lightning bolts, the plague-toxin was annihilated, likely due to the instantaneous high temperature and pressure.
However, the soot that rose from it needed to be handled with the same caution as when he had burned it with fire.
It had to be isolated until he was certain of its complete annihilation.
*'Isolation…'*
Loan gathered all the remaining plague-toxin, enveloped it in Convection, and then formed another sphere of Convection around it.
He then sent a powerful electric current through the sphere.
Lightning and the void meet.
[Sphere of Infinite Penance - Thunderbolt]
Tributaries of brilliant blue lightning cause an explosion on the target. The power gained from it reinforces the sphere, which continues to explode and burn until the plague-toxin is completely gone.
Crackle— Crackle? Boom?
Its size was small, but its power was no less than when he had finished off Andre in the past.
Annihilation was finally achieved through the discharge attack, like an endless cycle.
Even after seeing no further changes, Loan did not release the sphere and waited for some time.
Only after his senses told him it was safe did he release the small sphere.
"Hoo…"
He let out a small sigh.
He had confirmed that the thunderbolt was the most effective way to finish off Marbas without letting him escape, but it left a bad taste in his mouth.
It felt like a temporary fix.
The magic he had wielded until now had always relied on analyzing, understanding, and reconstructing phenomena, targets, and substances.
Because seeing mana was like his very identity, he judged that he had only truly conquered something when he could directly influence its mana.
He had completed his experiments based on the premise that the plague-toxin was mana with a special attribute, so according to that standard…
…he would only consider it a success when he could fully understand the plague-toxin, alter its properties, and render it harmless, akin to purification.
Simply burning it with high temperatures like this was not satisfying.
Loan flopped onto his back on the carriage roof and gazed at the sky.
The winter night air was so clear the stars shone brilliantly.
A great deal of time had passed by the time he finished all his experiments.
Could this be called a success?
Loan wished his mind was just a little bit sharper.