154 Spereka

154.

,Rats, a swarm of rats…”

I thought of Bashava’s death.

A bizarre death where the flesh of his entire body was dug out.

Was that death caused by rats?

I jumped into the prison cell.

I wrapped my arms around the pickpocket and trampled the rats as they came.

But there are too many.

Even as I did, the rats continued to pour out of the drain like an inverted waterfall.

It’s like a chocolate fountain. Except instead of chocolate, it’s spewing out rats.

I cut the criminals’ chains and said.

,Get out of here quickly! Run without looking back! To somewhere safe!”

While they scurried away, I continued to fight the rats.

It seems they don’t have the precision to attack a fleeing pickpocket.

They just rushed at me, who remained in this spot.

I shook my body violently at the creepy sensation of rats climbing over me.

Each one is weak. Just an ordinary rat.

Even so, it’s a bit annoying when there are so many.

,Thunder! Thunder! Thunder! Thunder! Thunder!”

Lightning extended from my hand and burned the rats in clumps.

It’s more efficient to erase them in a wide area like this than to trample them one by one.

The lightning extending from my hand became an eraser, gradually erasing the rats.

The stench of the rats burned by lightning stings my nose.

The number has decreased to some extent, and I should leave this place quickly.

At that moment, someone spoke to me.

,You are… a Hero. Hero Elena-rogun.”

,What?”

The voice came from a corner of the smoky room.

Rats were gathered together, forming a shape like a human head. It’s quite a grotesque sight.

,Who are you?”

,If there are questions, I should be asking them. Why is Hero Elena interfering with me?”

What is this nonsense?

It’s not that strange that he knows me. I’m already quite famous throughout the continent. I’ve been quite active here in Hwaris as well.

But is the fact that a Hero is stopping criminals something to question? Whoever he is, he must be someone around the head of White Blow.

,Isn’t it obvious? I don’t know who you are, but you’re the bad guys.”

,Bad guys? Bad guys, you say?”

The rat head closed its mouth. As if thinking about something.

,I see. There must have been a misunderstanding. I’ll come back again. With sufficient preparation.”

The rat head said that and scattered into rats. The rats that had filled the room disappeared back into the drain, leaving only corpses behind.

,What the hell…?”

I was left alone in the room filled with stench and rat corpses. My head is throbbing.

I let out a long sigh and moved my feet towards the hotel where my companions were.

========================================

I told Riel and Selina about what happened in the basement of the Karano mansion. Of course, excluding anything related to Bal Fetish.

,Rats…”

Selina listened to my story and fell into thought.

Selina, the Red Magician, would also have some knowledge of handling animals.

Could she find some hint?

,There’s no such magic. Maybe one or two, but there’s no magic that controls that many animals at once,”

,B-but Selina-do before handled countless tentacles during the Ropa Village raid, right?”

,That’s because it’s an artificial creature created from the beginning with that usage in mind. But it’s impossible to handle individual souls like that. With any magic I know.”

,If not magic?”

It was Riel who brought up that word.

,Are you talking about magic items?”

,No, I’ve read about it before. In the distant past, there were beings called ‘Druids’. They were said to have the ability to borrow the power of animals or communicate with them.”

,Druids… If it’s that… But I’ve never heard of such beings actually existing until now?”

,That’s true, but…”

It’s a story I, as a foreigner, don’t know well. I only know about Druids from games and such.

But it’s a troublesome ability.

If they’re using rats for attacks, I can’t let my guard down anywhere.

Fortunately, each one is just an ordinary rat…

No matter how many rats I defeat, it’s meaningless unless I defeat the main body. The opponent knows me.

I’ve ended up in a situation where I can only be attacked unilaterally.

Moreover, the opponent is using a skill that Selina has asserted is ‘impossible with magic’. It’s also impossible to deny the possibility that they have other hidden powers.

Now I might have to stay on guard even when I’m resting or sleeping. Just thinking about it makes me feel tired already.

The task at hand was still gathering information.

Riel and Selina went to the library to investigate Druids, and I went to the streets to catch the tail of White Blow.

But neither of us had any particular success.

I felt frustrated, like an RPG where progress is blocked.

It was fortunate that there were no enemy attacks during that time.

Today, I was wandering the back alleys again to get information on White Blow.

At some point, an eerie atmosphere enveloped the surroundings.

,Are they targeting the moment I’m alone?’

Rats began to appear one by one.

From the gaps in the walls, from the floor, the rats were disgustingly gathering and surrounding me.

The rats gathered together and formed a shape.

This time, it wasn’t just a head.

The rats began to form a humanoid figure with limbs.

The sight of the rat-human, which had the appearance of a person but with each individual rat wriggling and wagging its tail, was quite disgusting.

It seems different from before. Are they going to get serious?

I drew my sword.

But neither the swarm of rats nor the rat-human showed any signs of attacking me.

,Hero Elena. Let’s talk.”

As he began to speak, the noise of the squeaking rats subsided.

I didn’t sheathe the sword I had drawn and said.

,What do you want to talk about? Mr. Rat-Human.”

,I’m not a rat-human. I’m definitely an ordinary human. Spereka, that’s my name. I’ve come to tell you that we don’t need to be enemies.”

Spereka spread his palms and made a gesture that could be seen on both sides.

Is that his way of showing friendship? It’s hard to see it that way because of his disgusting appearance.

The group of rats clung together and brought something to Spereka’s feet.

Shincheol. The lump of Shincheol I had lost.

So it was in these guys’ hands?

,That’s your thing, right? I’ll return it to you. I apologize for touching Hero Elena’s belongings, even though I didn’t know.”

An apology?

What does he want?

I just stared at Spereka with my sword in hand.

,After receiving this, I recommend that you quietly leave this city. Then I promise the safety of you and your companions.”

I don’t know if it’s a persuasion or a threat.

The lump of Shincheol being carried by the rats stopped about halfway between me and Spereka.

As if they would hand it over then if I showed my acceptance.

,I refuse.”

Spereka tilted his head.

,Why? Wasn’t Hero Elena hostile to us because we stole this item?”

That was certainly the case. At first.

But not now. After experiencing Bashava’s incident, I had the thought of thoroughly defeating them.

,Because you guys are the bad guys.”

Spereka made a strange sound. A sound that seemed like a sneer, or a sigh. Or maybe it’s just the sound the rats are making.

,The bad guys in this land aren’t me, aren’t us. The real evil is the Eustea Order. Hero Elena, are you even a Hero if you don’t know that?”

The Order is the bad guy?

Certainly, there seems to be some truth to that.

But it doesn’t seem like something someone who openly commits crimes should say.

,Their teachings are false and distorted. They worship the wrong being. A being called a goddess, who is nothing but evil and lewd. I, Spereka, only want to transform this city of vice.”

,While parasitizing on that city of vice and making a living by stealing?”

,This land, which was once overflowing with the grace of nature, has been painted with hateful white without anyone’s consent. It’s not theirs. All of my actions are caused by them. Taking back from the fake owner and returning it to the real owner is just. Isn’t it?”

In his lengthy speech, there was a hint of fanaticism.

I shouldn’t talk for too long.

,I don’t know about that, just give me back my Shincheol. It’s mine.”

,I can’t do that. I can’t return it if you interfere with us.”

The Shincheol was returned to Spereka’s feet by the rats.

He’s being annoying.

Something suddenly came to mind.

The large amount of gunpowder found on the third floor of Bashava’s warehouse.

That terrifying object doesn’t suit Bashava’s character, who is thoroughly materialistic and weak old man.

If it suits anyone, it would suit a megalomaniac fanatic terrorist who hates the city and the entire Eustea Order.

,What are you going to do with that gunpowder?”

,Purification.”

At that moment, the swarm of rats rushed in. From all directions.

,Giga Thunder!”

Spereka, who was directly hit by the electric shock, shattered into pieces. It entered each and every rat and joined the swarm of rats.

,You are not a Hero. Fake Hero Elena.”

The rat head murmured as it moved away. The Shincheol was also moving away with it.

A wave of rats blocked the way.

So that rat-human wasn’t the main body either.

To send a rat clone instead of the main body while saying let’s talk, he’s a rotten bastard after all.

,Thunder! Thunder! Thunder! Thunder! Thunder! Thunder!”

I tried to break through the rats and chase after them, but the rat head and the Shincheol had already disappeared somewhere.