Calamity (2)

Angheln gripped the tea bag packet, letting out a shallow breath. It wasn’t a normal breath, but one accompanied by a slight tremor. At that sound, I involuntarily raised my head and looked into Angheln’s eyes. Then, I paused. I saw a melancholy look in her eyes that didn’t match her young and beautiful appearance.

Regret and sorrow… I couldn’t fathom the depth of emotion contained within those slender, clear eyes. It was too, too deep. A single person’s emotions couldn’t produce such a look. It was as if the grudges of others were mixed in, creating a chaotic and disordered color.

I reflexively thought of Shuriel. The emotions felt in their eyes were the opposite, but their foundation was very similar. A crossroads before death. Angheln couldn’t turn away from death, and Shuriel did. What I felt in Angheln’s eyes was regret for not choosing a ‘better option.’

“You’ve given up the pursuit, I see.”

Angheln nodded slightly.

She couldn’t pass by the burning houses. The disgusting, fishy smell of burning flesh and the scattering bone fragments screamed that there were no survivors, but Plyton’s flames didn’t end with just burning ‘that kind of thing.’ Black flames that burned the souls of the dead… They wouldn’t stop until the soul was completely burned away, turning into a handful of ashes and vanishing.

She didn’t know that fact when she first met Plyton. However, she knew that she should never pass by those black flames.

“…The stigma reacted. The Stigma of Foolishness, which punishes me whenever I make a foolish decision.”

Because the Stigma of Foolishness reacted. The dark red stigma engraved on her right arm gave her a needle-pricking pain whenever she made the wrong choice. This stigma. It activated the moment she tried to pursue Plyton.

“…Giving up the pursuit, I realized the abnormality and immediately began to save souls. I purified the burning souls and prayed for the repose of the dead who became stars in the sky. But… I don’t know if God wanted only that.”

However, the stigma didn’t present the exact path. It didn’t even tell her why that was the wrong choice.

Was it telling her to give up the pursuit and save souls? Or was it simply because the risk of pursuit was too great? She couldn’t know. It took her own effort to reverse the wrong choice and move onto the right path. The Stigma of Foolishness didn’t react to consecutive misjudgments. Only at the first choice. The stigma only gave a hint, not the answer.

“…There must have been a better choice.”

As a result, letting Plyton go at that time became the root of the problem. Plyton, who returned alive, became more cunning and wicked, tormenting the North. More souls than Angheln had saved. They faded into the dark red flames without even receiving a farewell.

It was miserable and terrible. The reason why Plyton’s flames were so cruel to living things was that no remnants of the burned soul remained. Those who met such an end became tiny masses of spirit, wandering the world. They became small grains indistinguishable from Mana and were forgotten in the world.

Angheln closed her eyes slightly and regretted.

“…This time, I’ll definitely fucking kill him.”

And when she opened her eyes again, a different atmosphere lingered in her eyes. The unfathomable depth-the abyss-like eyes-remained. However, she wasn’t crushed by the death she had experienced. She carried the will of the Agent, steadfastly bearing the countless deaths that had fallen upon her shoulders without turning away.

“…I’m sorry. I’ve been talking too much.”

Angheln took a cute, deep breath, “Hoo, ha-.”

It didn’t match her serious and languid atmosphere, and I almost burst out laughing, but I barely managed to hold it in.

“…Before you go, there’s something that might be helpful.”

Angheln said, taking out a dark blue tea bag from the purchased tea bag packets.

“When you reach the entrance to the North, you may feel a chill due to the unique death energy. You can shake it off with divine power, but… it’s not respectful to the dead. Before you go, drinking tea with Kahalia leaves will help.”

Kahalia leaves.

They are the leaves of twisted vine plants that mainly bloom in places full of graves or corpses. Despite the unsanitary growing environment, they were quite popular tea leaves in the Empire due to their strangely addictive taste. The main production area is the North. Thanks to the death energy spread throughout the area, they grow well everywhere.

“…You can rest assured that there are no harmful ingredients.”

She asked the store owner for permission and borrowed tea utensils. Angheln, who had been dispatched to the North many times, skillfully poured the tea.

“The smell isn’t very good.”

“It’s edible. It has a unique taste. It’s a bit bitter… and a little tangy too.”

The plant that holds death… wasn’t as bad as I thought. But, whenever I taste things like this, I always have the same question. How did they even think of eating this? It was truly puzzling.

“Hmm…?”

However, about three minutes after drinking the tea, a chilling energy wrapped around my body. Along with strange phenomena such as my feet becoming lighter and distant places appearing slightly blurry.

It wasn’t serious. It was a really, really minor abnormality. I noticed it because it was me, but if it were a criminal, they might have overlooked it.

“Camouflage, huh.”

Shuriel opened his mouth quietly. He frowned and clicked his tongue, probably experiencing the same strange phenomenon.

I tilted my head and said.

“Camouflage?”

“Camouflaged as the dead. Is this what she meant by helpful?”

Angheln smiled silently and thanked the store owner. After paying for borrowing the tea utensils, she stood up and said.

“…If you’re ready, let’s leave right away.”

“Is there a place to stay? I don’t know the geography here.”

“…The closest place is the territory of Baron Cherenel. I have some acquaintance with him, so we should be able to enter without any problems.”

Cherenel… I only knew that he was the lowest-ranking noble among the five pillars guarding the North. The first place was naturally the Frontier Count. From second place onwards, I only knew the names, not the detailed information. Perhaps the fourth-ranked in the North was the Herdhona baronetcy, the family of the head maid Erze, whom I had met before.

Angheln moved towards the carriage. After checking the condition of the horses, she turned her head and said.

“…We need to go to Shuren Gorge via Baron Cherenel’s territory.”

“You’ve got to be kidding me. Why there of all places?”

“…It’s where the most recently discovered ‘scorching’ is.”

Scorching. Traces of being burned to ashes by Plyton’s flames. The traces of the flames, which were powerful enough to burn souls, remained for a long time, making it easy to track.

But there was a problem. The Agents couldn’t use magic. And even if they called a magician to track him, another problem was that there were no magicians proficient in the Demon’s Mana. The magician in charge of tracking had to be proficient in both divine power and magic, as well as demonic energy.

That was why it was difficult to track Plyton. Just when they managed to analyze and figure out his movements, he would cause a fire in an unexpected place, as if mocking the humans.

However.

Angheln wasn’t worried.

A monster whose skills were beyond measure. An unprecedented magician who overwhelmed the three Agents instead of fighting them on equal terms. It was said to be beyond the heavens. Another sky beyond the sky. The Red Witch with red hair.

“…Yujin. I’m counting on you.”

I hid my rotten dead fish eyes and slightly raised the corners of my mouth.

* * *

The air in the North was cold.

That’s why it was even stranger. Even if there were differences by region, it certainly wasn’t a day that could be called winter. In fact, the texture of the wind felt on my skin was by no means cold. However, when I inhaled, cold and sharp air was digging into my lungs.

“Is this also due to the influence of the death energy?”

Shuriel grumbled and looked out of the carriage. They had come far enough inside to be called the North, but it was still the entrance. And yet, the death energy was so strong… Could this be expressed as stuffy?

I grumbled that it would be better to wear a mask. Shuriel agreed, pulling his clothes up to cover his mouth. Angheln, whom I glanced at, seemed used to it and didn’t seem to care.

“It’s a good thing Aileen didn’t come here.”

“The death energy is thick. It feels bad. Is it this bad even after drinking the tea?”

Angheln, as if she knew this would happen, took out a pre-prepared canteen. It was a canteen filled with Kahalia leaf water.

Shuriel and I quickly snatched the canteen and gulped it down. Angheln, who gave us a kind smile as she watched us, said in a languid voice.

“…You’ll get used to it in about three days. However, even if we arrive before then, I hope you don’t frown or anything.”

“Why?”

“…The people of the North don’t give affection to those they will eventually part with. In order not to do that, we need to blend in with their culture. If we don’t… they will treat us as complete outsiders.”

“Tsk. I understand.”

For Shuriel, whose default expression was full of dissatisfaction, this was a truly difficult request.

‘It’s getting dark.’

When I glanced up, the sky was slightly darker than usual.

Is this also due to the influence of the death energy? If the ley lines themselves were twisted like in the Sierra Rock Zone, the weather could break down. But this place… was just dark. I can’t find a reason. I don’t even know if death energy really exists in the first place. Seeing Kahalia leaves blooming, it’s true that it’s related to the dead…

‘Did Demons like places like this?’

Originally, Demons were a race that prioritized their desires. Their desires were so pure that they seemed consistent to humans, making it easy to attach ‘epithets.’ Demons with epithets liked their fame and identified themselves with their epithets.

That was the general case, but there were exceptions.

‘…It’s a bit much to call twins a desire.’

Twin Demons.

They were given the epithet ‘Twin Demons’ simply because they were twins. That’s right. They name them as they see them. The Demon of Cold, the Demon of Sloth-even the Demon of Cooking. In the end, they are things seen and understood from a human perspective.

‘…It was said that Demons only become Demons when they realize what they truly want.’

Information I got when I trained Sophia. There must be a reason why they are setting up camp in a place like this and killing humans.

“Shuriel.”

“Speak.”

“Why here of all places? Why would a guy with the name ‘Fearful Flame’ come to a gloomy place and set up camp?”

“Probably because there are a lot of dry trees. It doesn’t rain much here.”

That makes sense too.

But my thoughts were a little different.

“Pahwin.”

“…You can speak freely.”

“You said that Plyton doesn’t have a base and appears here and there, right?”

“…That’s right. The ‘scorching’ before Shuren Gorge was in a city under the jurisdiction of Baron Herdhona.”

Demons aren’t that meticulous. Demons move as they please. It was suspicious that he didn’t have a base. Even the Twin Demons showed signs of settling in one place before they ran away.

Above all, the Stigma of Foolishness, which was quiet when I fought Plyton, reacted as soon as I started chasing him. If we simply think of the reason why we shouldn’t follow him as ‘danger level’…

“Plyton’s main body might be in the place where he escaped. A main body with tremendous power that Pahwin alone can’t handle….”

Or, if that’s not the case.

“Plyton might really be multiple people.”

Judging from the fact that he appears in various places to avoid pursuit, we also had to consider the ability to create clones.

If I’m right, it was time to move on to ‘Why are they killing humans even while doing such things?’