Ch.123Chapter 123 – The Deserted Village (1)

I immediately stopped the carriage.

Following Eve’s instructions, I parked the carriage a short distance away from the village.

While I was informing the people inside about the situation, I saw Eve climb down from the driver’s seat and untie the rope connecting Moo to the carriage.

“Moo, please move far away just in case.”

-Moo!

As if understanding Eve’s words, Moo promptly disappeared into the trees ahead.

“Is that okay?”

“Moo is very intelligent. When it’s safe, he’ll come back on his own.”

For a moment, I had the foolish thought that Moo really was an incredibly smart animal.

Meanwhile, the carriage door opened, and I saw the people inside gathering their weapons and coming out.

“There’s not a single person in the village?”

“Yeah.”

Beatrice asked with disbelief.

Honestly, if I had been resting comfortably inside and someone told me there was nobody in the village, I would have reacted the same way.

“Since we don’t know what might happen, why don’t we just pass by?”

“Unfortunately, we need to go through that village to continue our journey.”

That was the disadvantage of traveling by carriage.

It was very inconvenient to travel on unpaved roads or mountain paths.

“Of course, this carriage is extremely sturdy, so it won’t break or wear down just from traveling on mountain roads.”

“But it would take much more time.”

Eve nodded.

While we might have some time before trackers caught up to us, we needed to hurry as much as possible.

In the end, we had to investigate the strange situation in the village.

“Let’s investigate quickly and get out fast if it’s safe.”

“That would be best.”

After exchanging glances with everyone, we headed toward the village.

As we passed the empty checkpoint and began walking through the deserted streets, we immediately noticed another suspicious detail.

“…The street stalls have been abandoned.”

Beatrice narrowed her eyes.

It appeared to be a stall selling alcohol and skewered meat, with burnt skewers still sitting on the grill.

It seemed like someone had been grilling meat but abandoned it without touching it.

“There’s hardly any sign of fighting or people being dragged away.”

Eve said this while falling into thought.

Eve began examining the food stall while Sera checked the ground.

“…Hey, there are too many abandoned things.”

I went toward where Beatrice’s voice came from and found many more abandoned items.

A book that had fallen to the ground while open, a bucket half-filled with water by the well, a cart that looked like it had been set down while being pulled.

Most items that normally would have been put away properly before leaving were simply abandoned.

It felt as if their owners had just left everything behind without a second thought.

“Sir.”

I turned my head at the sound of someone calling me and saw Christina approaching.

“Christina?”

“Something feels strange.”

Unlike usual, Christina’s expression had turned serious.

I spoke to her as she carefully looked around.

“Strange how?”

“It’s slightly similar to an energy I’ve felt before…”

“What kind of energy?”

“The energy I felt in the ossuary.”

If it’s that, is she talking about the purple gem?

“…Unlike then, only the malevolent energy…”

“Please come over here for a moment!”

While Christina was muttering quietly, Sera called out to me.

“What is it?”

“There are traces of something being dragged here.”

Looking where Sera pointed, I saw that she was right—there were drag marks.

“There are also signs of things being pulled away.”

Eve said this while looking at a clothesline.

Clothes that had been hanging on the line were scattered about.

But there were signs that something had dragged them—or more precisely, that something had pulled them while moving.

It was as if something had walked through, ignoring obstacles, getting caught on them and continuing to walk.

It felt like everyone in the area had walked in the same direction.

“All the objects seem to have been pushed in the same direction.”

“What could it be?”

It seemed like the villagers had abandoned whatever they were doing and pushed through obstacles with their bodies.

“…I sense something bad coming from that direction.”

Christina approached and spoke.

She opened her mouth as if she was starting to understand.

“I’ll lead the way, please follow me.”

With an expression similar to what I’d seen at the cemetery before, Christina began walking in the lead.

+

As we walked in that direction, another bizarre thing appeared.

“Fog.”

It was fog that couldn’t possibly form in the current weather.

“It’s fog infused with magical power.”

Beatrice opened her mouth with displeasure.

“It was artificially created to hide something.”

“We might lose our way if we’re unlucky.”

“Don’t worry.”

Christina looked at us and said.

A small light was now emanating from her stone staff.

“I’ll guide us in the right direction.”

And she began walking confidently in one direction.

“What are they trying to hide with this fog?”

Beatrice said in a somewhat fierce voice.

Judging by how vigilantly she was looking around, her nerves seemed quite on edge.

“It would be troublesome if someone attacked us.”

“Don’t say unnecessary things…”

Just as Beatrice was about to retort to my comment.

-Swoosh!

Something cut through the air.

I instinctively turned my head, and whatever had suddenly lunged at me grazed past my head.

I felt something slightly scratch my helmet.

“Kay?”

“I’m fine!”

As Sera approached me, I grabbed her and stepped back slightly, and something else passed by.

Then Beatrice quickly swung her iron chain.

-Whoosh!

But perhaps because of the fog, the chain only cut through empty air, and Beatrice clicked her tongue as she pulled it back.

Everyone quickly gathered in one place.

We stood back-to-back, watching in all directions.

“Anyone hurt?”

“Fortunately, no.”

Eve replied calmly.

Everyone seemed to be unharmed except for me with the slight hit to my helmet.

-Thud thud

Footsteps could be heard.

Something was moving in the fog.

“…Get ready.”

Beatrice’s voice.

Everyone began to tense up.

And then.

“Uaaaargh!!”

“A person?”

I heard Sera’s surprised voice.

A young man was charging through the fog with a farming tool.

I saw Sera, startled, using her strength to throw off the man who had lunged at her.

“These people are being controlled right now!”

Christina immediately shouted.

“This energy is definitely ma—”

Something cut through the air toward her, and I quickly assessed its trajectory and swung my sword.

The arrow was cut in half mid-air.

‘They targeted Christina.’

It was clearly an arrow aimed at Christina.

I quickly identified the direction and saw what looked like a hunter preparing his next arrow.

I picked up a stone at my feet, threw it immediately, and saw the man fall backward when it hit him.

“Tch, these things!”

“Don’t hurt them! Just subdue them!”

Before Beatrice could do anything, I quickly shouted, and I saw her click her tongue again as she kicked people away.

I took my eyes off Beatrice, who was instantly knocking down several adult men, and began neutralizing the people rushing at me.

“Ah, aaaaah?!”

Suddenly hearing Christina’s scream, I looked over and saw her blocking a farming tool with her stone staff.

Seeing her somehow holding on with her weak arm strength, I quickly ran to her and kicked her attacker away.

“Thank you!”

Looking behind her, I saw another person aiming at Christina with a club.

Before I could even swing my weapon, I saw the attacker collapse.

Eve had struck him with her sword still in its sheath.

“These people are mainly targeting Christina.”

After quickly exchanging glances with Eve, we gathered around Christina.

Sera, who had pushed people away with her strength, and Beatrice, who had knocked people down, joined us.

This time we formed a circle around Christina to protect her.

“Chris, can you possibly return these people to normal?”

“Th-that!”

At Sera’s question, I could see Christina quickly thinking.

“…Ah!”

Suddenly, Christina seemed to have realized something.

She closed her eyes and began to pray.

Then the people began to charge more violently.

“They’re going even more berserk?!”

Eventually, Beatrice took out her chain and aimed for people’s legs to trip them.

I also changed my weapon to a staff to subdue people, and I could see Sera using magic to create earth walls while fighting alongside Eve.

The people began to resist more fiercely.

+

It was a short time, a really short time.

But the opponents were resisting too violently.

“Damn it!”

After taking down one man, I looked around.

By now they were throwing weapons and using their whole bodies to try to disrupt Christina’s prayer.

If we could just eliminate them it would be easier, but trying to subdue them was much more difficult.

“Christina, hurry!”

Since Sera and Eve’s combat abilities were clearly limited compared to Beatrice and me, their side was starting to become dangerous.

I saw Eve finally lose her sword, quickly grab her opponent and throw him down, while Sera somehow rebuilt the earth wall that people were trying to push down with their weight.

“Helmet, go there!”

Before Beatrice could finish speaking, I quickly ran over, kicked away a man targeting Eve, and swung my staff.

After subduing a couple more people, Sera and Eve had a brief moment to catch their breath.

“‘I offer this prayer to the noble God.'”

At the sudden voice, I looked at Christina.

Christina, who had been praying at length, now opened her eyes, and a strong light began to emanate from her—stronger than anything I’d seen before.

The light from her stone staff was particularly intense.

‘What is this?’

It was bright enough to make my eyes hurt a little.

“‘Forgive us our sins.'”

And as Christina touched the ground with her stone staff, a powerful light began to rise around her.

I instinctively covered my eyes from the light.

“Ugh, aaaaargh!!”

The people who had been attacking us were exposed to the light and began making strange noises.

And so, one by one.

Soon all the people had collapsed, and only our group remained standing.

“…Is it over?”

Beatrice quietly asked.

It seemed so, so I nodded silently, and everyone except Christina and me sat down on the ground.

“Damn, that was exhausting…”

Beatrice put a cigarette in her mouth with a weak gesture.

“What about the people?”

“…They’re lying quietly like puppets with cut strings.”

Eve answered my question.

“If it weren’t for Christina, we would have been in danger.”

Indeed, Eve and Sera’s side had almost been breached.

If they had been injured…

“I’m glad everyone is safe.”

“Yes.”

Eve and Sera smiled with tired faces and grabbed my arms.

I quietly nodded to both of them.

“Well, the bastard behind this knows how to mess with people’s heads.”

Beatrice said while smoking her cigarette.

“Honestly, trying to subdue them made the fight this difficult, but if it weren’t for that…”

“Beatrice.”

“Helmet. I’m just saying, you know. You think I’m serious?”

Beatrice waved her hand as if to reassure me, or perhaps because she didn’t want to argue.

Still, she had followed my instructions and restrained her magic use as much as possible to subdue people, so I decided not to say anything more.

Instead, I threw her a water flask.

“Thanks.”

She caught it nonchalantly and drank.

“Kay.”

“Kay, would you like some water?”

Perhaps because I had thrown water to Beatrice, both Eve and Sera took out water flasks at the same time.

But compared to me, the two of them needed water more urgently.

“You two drink first.”

At my words, Eve and Sera looked at each other briefly, and finally I saw them quietly drinking water.

While watching the three of them rehydrate and rest, I looked at Christina.

“Christina.”

“Yes.”

“What was that just now?”

When I asked about the light she had produced earlier, I saw Christina scratch her head slightly.

Soon she spoke again.

“It’s a holy technique that purifies magical energy.”

“Magical energy?”

“Yes.”

Christina looked at me calmly and opened her mouth.

“Those people were being controlled by magical energy.”

“So that’s why everyone in the village disappeared.”

“I believe so, Sir.”

They must have controlled people to either kidnap others or make them come on their own.

And when the magical energy was purified, part of the fog disappeared and the people were freed from control.

Looking at the people, I noticed one more thing.

“…Wait, everyone here is male.”

“They must have been selected as minions by the culprit.”

Christina quietly explained.

“So the rest of the villagers are still captured somewhere.”

These couldn’t be all the people.

It was certain that more people were still being held somewhere.

“…Kay.”

“We have to go.”

I quietly answered Eve’s call.

“The fact that they attacked us means they know our position and are targeting us too. It will be more dangerous if we leave them be.”

“Understood.”

Having regained some energy, Eve, Sera, and Beatrice stood up.

“First, I’ll create a shelter so the people can be safe.”

“I’m counting on you.”

When I said this to Sera, she smiled and raised earth walls.

Using that as a foundation to hide the people should keep them safe for a while.

“First we need to find whoever is controlling these people…”

“It’s that way, Sir.”

Christina raised her stone staff as if she had been waiting and pointed in a direction.

“Are you sure?”

“Yes. I can definitely feel it from there.”

Christina added that it was clearer than before.

Just like how she had easily found the strange energy at the cemetery before, Christina seemed to have already detected something.

“The culprit is over there.”

“Do you have any idea what it might be?”

Beatrice asked casually.

Christina nodded and smiled.

“Yes.”

Unlike her usual self, Christina’s face became serious.

“For magical energy to cause something like this, on this scale, there can only be one thing.”

Beatrice sighed as if she had already guessed it.

I exchanged glances with Eve, who was now standing beside me, and looked at Christina.

“A demon from the demon realm has appeared.”

Christina quietly pronounced.