Chapter 126: Phantom’s Island (3)
Carla and Jackal were annoying Named, thanks not only to their strength but also their unique traits.
However, for me specifically, Carla wasn’t that annoying.
Her Authority trait worked like a prison, but I could counter it with my mental fortitude.
The problem was Jackal; there was no one on this team who could counter his force.
At least, not officially.I turned to Allen without a word.
She was listening to Hesrock’s briefing seriously.
“The exploration result is that the Holystone Mine is this castle itself.However, there are many problems with mining here. There is the mana that causes lethargy and nightmares, as well as the robbers we just met, Carla and Jackal…”
Hesrock continued calmly. Beside him, the crew members like West, Lucan, and Selene assisted.
“Please wear this bracelet in case you all fall asleep. An occasional sleep-inducing mist spreads over the entire castle.”
Hesrock handed each of us a bracelet. It was a simple machine that sent an electric shock through your body once every three hours.“The next exploration will be conducted at 18:06 tomorrow.”
“Why did you decide on that specific time?”
“Because of the passage we found. On the 6th, 16th, 26th, and 36th, the most normal passage open at 18:06.”
“Is that little door the entrance?”
I cut them off. Then, I floated several pieces of wooden steel with Psychokinesis. Having experienced it firsthand, now it was time to rely on a tool.
“I will circulate this steel through the castle.”
The wooden steel flew in all directions, including up the castle’s stairs. Hesrock, trying to follow the movement of the steel with his eyes, asked.
“Please explain, Professor Deculein.”
“These objects resonate with me.”
The twenty pieces of wood steel weren’t just metal. Rather, it was appropriate to call them part of myself since they read and empathized with my thoughts, will, and instincts then made judgments accordingly.
“This steel emits waves to determine the size of the space and the concentration of mana. Then, it passes on all that information to me. If the discontinuity of this space is also applied to objects, they can create maps.”
“Wow, as expected from Professor Deculein!”
Allen smiled brightly and gave me a double thumbs-up while Ihelm shifted sullenly in his seat.
“Yes, that’s a good method. Then we will wait.”
* * *
Morning on Goreth Island lasted only a couple of hours. Similarly, the clear noon sky was only visible for a moment before the sky suddenly turned black, and the thick dark clouds sent down seemingly endless rain and wind.
“All four elements are used….”
In that cold landscape, with the occasional roar of lightning, Epherene studied the thesis.
“A new pure element that is expressed in harmony with all four elements.”
Luna-Deculein’s thesis required a very complex formula, an understanding of the concept, and a higher magical talent and skill to apply it practically.
“…To give almost infinite elasticity to any magic. This is called the property of carbon.”
At some point, while analyzing the thesis, Epherene felt a chill rising her back.She just moved her eyes to look out the window.
Behind her, reflected in the glass, there was a bizarre existence. It swayed like it was dancing with its unusually long limbs.
Epherene turned her head to stare at him.Its body stretched like rubber, and Mr. West’s face hung from its branches. He smiled.
“Epherene. Did you enjoy eating the fish?”
It was a bit creepy, but nothing to worry about. Epherene hastily went to find someone in the room- Deculein. There was no one in the chair where Deculein was sitting until now. It meant it was a dream.Epherene opened her eyes.
“Uh- bu- boo-boo-boo–! Boobooboobooboo–!”
A strange groan echoed out of Epherene, who had already fallen asleep, as she stretched her limbs to the ceiling. Her body trembled and convulsed.Allen, startled, turned to look at her.Allen rushed to wake her up.She shot up in fear, cold sweat dripping down her back. I spoke lightly.
“This is reality.”
Epherene let out a sigh of relief.“Are you okay?”
Allen patted Epherene on the back with concern plain on her face.
“Yes, yes. But why do I have so many nightmares…”
“It is proof that your mana sensitivity is superior. You are more sensitive to the mana of this castle. On the other hand, you lack mental strength.”
I looked around. The feeling of this first floor wasn’t good for some reason. Of course, Hesrock and the other team members appeared to have adapted to it, but it would be a difficult space for Epherene’s developed sense of energy.
“There’s no other way. You two stay on the second floor.”
Epherene and Allen tilted their heads at the same time. I suppressed the distress welling inside me.
“I’ll give you a room. Share it.”
Living together with 20 people was hard to bear.
No, I couldn’t stand it. Even as I spoke of it, my whole body grew itchy, as if I were allergic to the very thought. But I thought it would be tolerable for two more people to sleep in my room…
* * *
“…Is it good?”
“Yeah! Lia, you eat too!”
Meanwhile, Lia, having luckily escaped from danger, set up a base camp in a small bedroom in the castle. She made soup from the fish she caught last night and fed Leo.
“How is your body? Is it okay?”
Leo looked at Carlos, who hadn’t yet woken up. His body had taken on a subtly blue pallor, responding to the demonic spirits of the castle. Lia placed a magically frozen towel on Carlos’s forehead to cool him off.
“It’s okay. We’ll make him get better, right?”
“Yeah! Of course~. But Lia, who was that just now?”
Lia closed her mouth.
Carla and Jackal had suddenly attacked them, trapping Ganesha in Carla’s Authority.
And just before Jackal could finish her off, someone appeared at the right time. Lia knew who he was.The most important villain, who was nothing less than a major turning point in the story, Professor Deculein.
“…You don’t need to know.”
Lia left it at that and looked at her mangled hand.
In the meantime, she had solved several side quests, and her growth almost now matched a blessed character, but her hand was shattered by blocking one of Jackal’s attacks.
“Lia… that man was strong.”
She laughed softly.“Yeah. He was strong.”
“I want to fight him one more time. I can’t win, though. Still.”
Lia regarded him blankly for a moment, then smiled. Leo was a child born from the blood of a warrior, after all. He wasn’t normal either.
“Don’t think that. For now, take a rest. Until Ganesha comes back, got it?”
They held no assumption in the first place that Ganesha would lose.
Lia prepared the quest with too much meticulous attention to detail to doubt it. As much as she had her own growth, she focused her efforts on Ganesha’s growth.
Of course, she just told her where some treasures were, but Ganesha’s gear was all comprised of Hidden Pieces, thanks to that.Maybe she deserved to compete with that colossus Zeit.
“Haaaam~, Lia. You sleep first. I slept a lot, so I’m not tired.”
Leo spoke with tired eyes, causing Lia to chuckle.
“It’s not convincing when you say something like that while yawning.”
“Hey~, Lia, you haven’t slept in a while. If you have a nightmare this time, I will wake you…”
While saying that, Leo nodded off.
These guys were so young, still, children who easily lost to their instincts.
But why was her mouth wide open too?
Lia tried to remain awake.
However, after nearly 72 hours without sleep, she yawned, shattering her thoughts.
Soon after, her brain went to sleep first, shutting down from exhaustion.
There was naught but the sound of snoring, a subdued and peaceful atmosphere descending upon the napping children.
And into that quiet, in that room with three children sleeping soundly, a piece of wooden steel approached.
Flying like a bird and grasping the room’s mana, it soon found the three unknown creatures. It stared piercingly at one of them.
Carlos – his blood vessels were bulging from his neck, and his blood flickered blue.
Most crucially— his breath mixed heat and dark energy.
The wooden steel, recognizing his unusual existence, trembled and delivered it to Deculein.
* * *
…I quietly opened my eyes.
The perception of the wooden steel flowed into the body, and I looked at my wrist.
Sprouting blood vessels, blood-stained blue, and a simmering heart.
It was clear evidence, enough to send my blood pumping.
I exhaled, feeling my heart beat faster as the world seemed to have slowed down.
The wooden steel confirmed it. There was someone in this castle that was a demon born with a higher level of dark energy.
This body also felt its existence very clearly, as if on fire.“If there is a demon.”
The window reflected my face.
My blue eyes flashed like crystal, and the sharp irises within were as fierce as a beast’s.
“I must kill it.”
I moved with no other thoughts than of that duty.
The bloodline of Yukline, their instinct, went beyond searching for and killing demons. It referred to a relationship that couldn’t coexist in the same world.
The magic contained in this blood always pursued the death of all demons.I killed them because they existed.Approaching it was simple; I would use the twenty wooden steel as a rope to tighten around their neck.
Of course, as the castle was large, it would take some time to reach them.
I wouldn’t fail. Find it and kill it.This demon who dared to stand in the same space as me, this cursed and worthless monster.
I would tear it apart.Going out into the hallway and up the stairs, the Yukline blood recited this hatred that had been passed down from generation to generation.
“…Fear the devil.”
* * *
Lia woke due to an electric shock coming from her wrist.
She looked around, still sleepy.
Fortunately, everything appeared the same as it had been.She had a nightmare, but this was good enough. This one wasn’t too scary.
“Leo! Wake up.”
Lia shook Leo. The boy woke up calmly, apparently unaffected by the nightmares.
“Haam… what? Did Ganesha come back?”
“That’s not it. Now we have to move carefully.”
Leo, nodding blankly, put Carlos on his back while Lia packed her various tools in her bag.
Suddenly the door opened.“Who is this?!”
The uninvited guest had a nasty bald head covered in tattoos and an ax resting atop his shoulder. He regarded them with a cruel smile.
“They’re here! The kids!”
They were the robbers from before.
Lia pulled up her robe’s hood and brandished her dagger. She could deal with at least one of them.
“Hey! These three are those who Jackal found, right?!”
As the bald man shouted, their numbers quickly increased. One, two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight… there were at least thirteen of them.“Right! These kids!“We found them! We can take them with us!”
“Heheh, come here! Come here!”
Those robbers occupied the only door out, so they were properly surrounded. Lia clenched her jaw. There were too many enemies for her to face while protecting Carlos.
“It will be easier to give up~. Hey, hey~.”
The gang of robbers approached, dripping with greed, but Lia glanced at Leo by her side.
“Are you ready?”
“Okay. One, two.”
When she was about to shout three, the moment Leo and Lia pushed off the ground, Lia’s Intuition was activated.
Time slowed down.
An explosive detonation immediately followed, starting from the right wall. Shockwaves rippled out, and thick smoke filled the room.The terrific roar continued unabated.
Her body trembled as the sound hit their eardrums.Even as she fell, she kept her gaze trained ahead.
In the sudden terror, the robbers raised their weapons, but dozens of steel fragments rushed in before they could defend.
Further explosions dug deep through the thick smoke, their speed easily surpassing common sense to tear through the robbers.
No, it didn’t fully pierce but rotated while stuck in their bodies, ripping them to shreds.The thirteen robbers turned into corpses in an instant.
Lia shifted her eyes from the horrific sight, staring at the newcomer walking out of the mist.The clear sound of his footsteps pierced her ears, the soft clicking of his cane against the floor.
The figure of the nobleman slowly revealed itself starting from his feet…Lia was astonished. It was someone unexpected.Deculein.
Lia looked up at him. His gaze, on the other hand, was on something other than her.At first, she thought he came as support, but there was nothing as pleasant as salvation in those blue eyes.
There was nothing to be found in those dazzling eyes except an intense desire to kill.Deculein, that perfect nobleman’s lips, was distorted.
His killing intent rose like an aura, and his gaze, sharp as a weapon, staring at only one child.
“…Yeah. I know.”
Lia easily realized the root of his hostility.
It was born from the demon extermination instinct of the Yukline itself, as the bloodline of Carlos was half-human and half-demon.