Chapter 67 – Variables (6)

[Alstein.]

[In the end, the beast’s existence became a variable.]

[Because of that, a foreign substance entered the shell.]

“Ka-huk— keck, huk… cough…”

[Why has the Apocalypse disappeared?]

[Why do you keep disappointing me?]

[Is there something I haven’t done for you?]

“Hueck— c-cough… I-I’m sorry…”

[Are you going to say ‘I’m sorry’ again?]

“Ku-huhk… sniffling… No, no, I won’t…”

[You said you sent Kalt?]

“Yes!”

[Did you bestow the ‘blessing’?]

“Huff… sniff… The blessing… I made sure to bestow it thoroughly.”

[Understood.]

[This time, I will have no choice but to use the ‘blessing’ to recover the Apocalypse.]

[But there won’t be a next time.]

“… Thank you… Thank you.”

[So, retrieve the Apocalypse.]

[Don’t let it fall into the hands of those insolent challengers.]

[Eliminate the variables.]

[Without fail.]

“Understood…”

***

Without delay, Hephaestus jumped off my back and dashed toward the tree roots stretching over the summit.

“Hey, hey! Pinky, that crazy…”

Charlotte and Rubia followed closely behind.

I stopped in place and extended my senses.

I continued to expand them over the jagged roots, sharp enough to cut at a glance.

Passing through the sticky liquid smeared here and there, and riding along the beast’s flesh, my senses continued to extend.

At the end of the roots, I could make out a person tangled in the vines.

And then suddenly, a cry calling out Yuria’s name echoed through Karahan.

Slowly, I scanned Yuria’s condition.

The first thing that came to my senses was a faint pulse, as if it could stop at any moment.

Then, I sensed the shredded skin on her arms and her twisted legs.

A gaping wound on her side and a cut running from her right shoulder down to her left thigh.

Though I could only sense it, her condition was as grotesque as if she had been torn apart.

I took a deep breath and took a step forward.

The Yuria I had seen in the game was strong.

As a druid, she was a character who could manipulate plants freely and use the vitality drawn from them to heal her body.

She also had the ability to summon animals she had bonded with from a subspace, earning her the title of a one-person army.

She was the epitome of balanced offense and defense.

For her to have been reduced to this state…

Hephaestus’s cries pounded against my eardrums.

Rubia was continuously pouring her divine power into Yuria’s body, and Charlotte was dumping potion after potion on her.

“Heuuck… Y-Yuria… No, please… Please…”

Hephaestus could do nothing but kneel in front of Yuria, shedding endless tears.

After a while, Yuria’s pulse gradually started to return.

The skin on her arms, which had looked like it was about to fall off, began to regenerate, and her twisted legs slowly returned to their proper shape.

The hole in her side was healing slowly, and the deep cut across her body was also gradually closing.

But the group was too frantic to notice and continued their mad healing efforts.

Thinking it was probably best for her to recover quickly, I turned away without a word and expanded my senses.

I widened them so far that the headache I hadn’t felt for a while began to resurface.

The pain was sharp, as if it were going to split my head in half.

I didn’t stop and kept pushing my senses further.

Blood welled up inside me and spilled out from my nose and mouth but still, I didn’t stop.

Dozens of adventurers began to take shape along with the mid-slope of the mountain.

There were no particularly strong figures.

I quickly removed my hand from my sword hilt and picked up some leaves to wipe the blood clean.

“Urgh… ptuh!”

I spat out the blood pooled in my throat, turned around, and gripped my sword.

My head throbbed slightly, but I held on and checked Yuria’s condition.

She looked more… human now.

Hephaestus’s sobbing had quieted, Rubia’s divine power had diminished, and Charlotte was counting the potion bottles and tallying up the cost.

“Thank goodness. If we had been any later…”

Rubia, finally sitting down as if her legs hurt, comforted Hephaestus.

“Heuk… Y-Yuria… Thank… goodness… sniffling…”

Hephaestus’s trembling hand carefully smoothed Yuria’s disheveled hair.

“1,523 gold… This is a disaster… ha.”

Charlotte… is really in trouble this time…

Behind her deep sigh, I heard Yuria’s cracked groan.

“Haa… It looks like she’s regaining consciousness.”

Finally, Rubia wiped the sweat dripping down her neck and pulled her hands away.

I slowly approached behind Rubia and lifted her long hair.

Having long hair myself, I knew how much cooler the back of your neck feels when you lift it up like this.

“Ah… thank you, Noah. Haa, that feels nice.”

Rubia turned her head to give me a bright smile before collapsing into my lap, exhausted.

“You worked hard, Ru…bia.”

Despite the cold weather, Rubia’s body was damp with sweat where it touched mine but that too quickly dried thanks to her divine power.

As I breathed in Rubia’s sweat-mixed sweet scent, I expanded my senses again, just in case.

***

“Water… give me some water…”

After a long time, Yuria’s voice, accompanied by the shifting of her body, broke the silence.

“Yuriaaaaaa!! Huuaaang!”

Hephaestus burst into tears again, crying uncontrollably.

“Yuria, you damn… ha, I’ll be collecting every cent of the potion cost… So far, 19 bottles of top-tier potions—”

Charlotte rattled off the types of potions she had used, throwing a water bottle toward Yuria.

“Ha… damn it, I really almost died… kuh… ahem! Ha…”

Gulping down the water, Yuria cursed under her breath and started digging through the tree roots.

“Yuria… Yuriaaa…”

“When the hell did you… dare… cough— When did you start calling my name so casually? Huh? Want to die?”

“Heuheuuaang! I just… I just wanted to hear it so badly, hu-hu…”

“Ugh, what a mess.”

Yuria, pushing Hephaestus aside, continued searching through the tree roots, eventually pulling out her hand with a sigh of relief.

In her hand was an old book.

“So, why are you here?”

“Heuheuaang… I came to see you, Yuria… I thought something had happened… hu-huk…”

“I told you to stay home… And why are you here, Charlotte?”

Only then did Yuria seem to realize the situation. She blinked her eyes, rubbed them, and looked around again.

“My vision’s blurry, but… Priestess?”

“Haha… Yes, hello. Sorry for greeting you while sitting, but I hope you understand. I’m a bit exhausted.”

“Oh, no need. I was lying down this whole time anyway.”

Yuria waved her arms in frantic embarrassment at Rubia’s polite greeting.

Each time she moved her arms, a cracking sound could be heard, but she continued waving as if it were nothing.

And then.

“So… who’s that person behind you?”

It’s here… My turn has finally come.

You can do this! Noah, you can do it!

I began to recite the greeting I had prepared in my head ever since we headed to Ursphere.

“Ah, hello! I am Shin Noah, a Gold-ranked adventurer…! I’m twenty years old… My e-experience is two months—no, now it’s three months… Uh, and… what else was there…”

Caught off guard, my brain froze. What do I do…?

“Pffft— Pffuhuhuhuhehe…”

As I desperately tried to recall the greeting I had prepared, Rubia started making strange sounds, her shoulders shaking.

She’s… laughing at me… Bad Rubia!! Even if you can’t help, you shouldn’t laugh!!

“Noah… Noah… Black hair and a greatsword… Ah.”

Muttering my name, a lightbulb seemed to go off over Yuria’s head.

“Bloodfiend?”

…What?

“B-Bloodfiend…?”

“Kuhuhuhuheuh… Pffhuh… Hahahahaha!”

Rubia, who had been holding back her laughter, finally burst out.

Charlotte and Hephaestus both nodded in agreement, as if it made perfect sense.

After a long while, Rubia’s laughter finally subsided, and Yuria got up from her spot.

“Hmph… Well, there’s a lot I want to ask, and I’m sure you all have questions, too, but it’s dangerous to talk here. Let’s discuss this as we head down.”

She then tucked the book she was holding back into the tree roots and examined her tattered clothes.

“Ugh, damn. Charlotte, give me a robe.”

“Five gold.”

“Crazy b*tch.”

“One gold.”

“I’ll just go naked.”

“…F*ck.”

Clicking her tongue, Charlotte handed over a perception-disrupting robe.

“Shall we get going then?”

Yuria, now covered in the robe, gave us a polite, business-like smile.

“Hephaestus, you too. Get up.”

“Ugh! I’m hurting!”

“Stop whining.”

Yuria forcibly pulled Hephaestus to her feet.

“So… it’s Kalt?”

Blowing out thick smoke, Charlotte handed Yuria a cigarette.

“Yeah. That bastard.”

Yuria lit the cigarette with a flame from her fingertips.

She knows simple magic, huh…

“Inhale—Exhale… Ah, that’s good.”

“Where did you escape from?”

“That side.”

“The Isela Forest?”

“Yeah. But I escaped cleanly, so it’ll take a while for them to find me.”

Chuckling, Yuria held out her hand to Hephaestus.

“Let’s go, my dear.”

Hephaestus, without a word, bashfully reached out and took Yuria’s hand.

“Shall we go too?”

Whether she saw it or not, Rubia also extended her hand toward me.

“Ugh, these crazy people,” Charlotte spat, tossing away her cigarette and spitting on the ground.

For some reason… in this atmosphere, holding hands felt a bit embarrassing.

Just as I was about to reach out and take Rubia’s hand—

An overwhelming murderous intent ripped through me, like my whole body was being torn apart.

My mind went blank.

My body began to shiver uncontrollably.

I bit my tongue and forced myself to stay conscious.

I drew my greatsword.

Tree roots surrounded Hephaestus.

Charlotte unleashed her magic, raising a shield.

I sharpened my senses.

Head? Neck? Waist?

No.

The entire area.

I pushed Rubia aside and swung my greatsword with all my strength.

Clang—!

Metal clashed with metal.

The impact split my skin open.

The tree roots were crushed, and the shield shattered.

The trees were uprooted and fell, the rocks split apart.

A fierce wind sliced through the scattered leaves, sending them flying.

The clouds were torn apart, and even the air seemed to evaporate.

“You managed to block my sword.”

The skin on my hands, gripping the greatsword, tore.

My bones cracked and shattered.

My shoulder creaked, and my waist bent.

“Impressive.”

Creak— The armor shifted.

A thin sword pushed back my greatsword.

My legs buckled.

Blood poured from my eyes, nose, and mouth.

My sword was being pushed back.

I was losing strength. I was losing momentum. I was losing everything.

“But.”

The sword disappeared. It scattered. It turned into a flickering shadow.

And it seeped into my body.

And then.

Splat—

It exploded.

“That’s all there is.”

Through the scattering blood.

There stood a figure.

The one I had never once defeated in eight years.

A being beyond human comprehension.

A disaster in human form.

The Master.

The Black Knight, Kalt, stood before me.