Ch.130130. Winds of Plague (12)

“I’m sorry. I cannot provide any other answer.”

“Hmm… this young man, really…”

No matter how much Kain tried to persuade him, he remained unmoved like a stone Buddha, sticking to the same answer.

Even when told that he would ask Senia to bring medicine that could treat Lumia.

“We Sirens are not in an easy situation either. There are reasons why I must ask for your help.”

“I’m sorry.”

“Both the Sirens and Lumia are trying to survive. I’m sure you understand that clearly, so why are you closing your ears like this?”

“…I’m sorry. I cannot reveal Lumia’s location for any reason.”

He shows little interest in others, yet when it comes to matters involving Lumia, he refuses to yield on anything.

That was Kain’s own way of protecting Lumia.

But it was truly an inflexible method.

His determination to keep silent about a criminal who would receive no reward, all for the sake of one person, was somewhat admirable.

However, shouldn’t he recognize that the neatly arranged relationships and each person’s situation are heading toward disaster?

Trying to block out all this information as if he hadn’t heard it was incredibly frustrating from the other party’s perspective.

“You need to face reality. Kain, we…”

Even with Senia stepping in, the situation remained unchanged.

Though both tried their best to persuade him, Kain would absolutely not reveal Lumia’s location.

And then, a sudden earthquake struck them.

“What the! Where did this earthquake come from?!”

“Are you alright, senior?”

“I’m fine. More importantly, Elder, quickly hide under the table!”

“…”

Despite his body swaying from the earthquake, the Elder steadfastly headed outside.

“Elder…? What are you doing?!”

“It’s dangerous! If something collapses there…!”

Senia thought it made no sense to go outside during an earthquake, assuming he was just making a fuss. But instead of dramatics, she saw intense agitation in the old Siren.

It was the same fear-induced agitation that the two Sirens who had brought Kain had shown.

What had he seen beyond there?

“Oh, no…”

“Elder!”

After looking around several times, the Elder finally grabbed the doorknob he had struggled to open during the earthquake and fell to his knees with a dejected voice.

The earthquake was gradually subsiding, but it meant something was in that direction.

And the moment they stepped forward to look—

—Kyaaaah!!!!

—Aaaaah!!

Regardless of gender, screams began to engulf the entire lake area.

“Has it… truly gone wrong…”

“What is it, Elder? What did you see?”

“Senia…”

The Elder’s eyes were vacant. Those eyes, as if they had lost everything, revealed nothing.

But one could make an educated guess.

‘I felt something was wrong…’

That was precisely why she had wanted to ask about the Sirens’ weakened unity and their strange anxiety…

Undoubtedly, what had come for the Sirens was pure terror.

“Hey, Kain!”

“I’m ready! Let’s go!”

This fear, possibly spreading to all Sirens, would spread through the entire village like a plague.

Only she and Kain could immediately assess what was happening and take action.

***

With the sudden earthquake, the Sirens all guessed what was approaching.

It was a disaster incarnate for the Sirens.

“It’s those rats! Everyone run!!”

In the midst of everyone shouting and scrambling to save themselves, there were no well-trained combat personnel.

This was the moment when the weakness they had detected in those who had always relied solely on the method of Hyplisia was nakedly exposed.

“This… can’t be… the barrier…”

“This has never happened before! No matter how much cultivated land was shaken, it never collapsed to this extent…”

“You fool… it’s changed…”

“What…?”

“Its size is different! It’s been growing bigger and bigger!”

The creature, which had been growing larger each time, was now big enough to destroy 30% of the Hyplisia barrier.

Shanbereshu, the mother of the Divourers who was determined to devour the Sirens, was no longer vulnerable to the barrier weakness.

The Hyplisia barrier created by the Sirens was crumbling without resistance.

The mother didn’t even need to step in as the Divourers leaped out of their massive burrows as if they had been waiting, licking their lips as they headed toward their prey.

“It’s over… it’s all over…”

They no longer had the strength to repair the barrier.

With combat training impossible, those who could barely wield weapons would only hold out for a few minutes at most.

The residents began falling into despair one by one, and as an unmanageable number poured in, the Divourers invaded the village.

“Oh, no…!”

“Damn it! Did we lose?”

“Ma’am, get away from there!!”

Despite the shout, her stiffened legs wouldn’t move.

“Mommy…?”

“Nella? Don’t look back, just run, understand?”

-Screech!!

She closed her eyes tightly. Realizing she was about to become their next meal, she only wished for her child’s safety.

But instead of the cries of frenzied Divourers anticipating their prey, the mother heard the voices of two people who had just arrived.

“S-Senia…”

“Get up quickly, ma’am!”

“Senior! I think we need to join in!”

The person who suddenly appeared and saved Nella’s mother had no webbed ears or noticeable scales.

The man who appeared with Senia was unmistakably human.

“A human? Did he escape from the basement?!”

“He’s my companion. Shouldn’t we stop the Divourers first, rather than being suspicious?”

“Y-you’re right. The monsters come first.”

“Exactly. More importantly, we need to create a barrier right away!”

Finally coming to her senses, she focused on the task at hand.

Rather than questioning whether to trust a human, surviving together was the priority.

‘But… how?’

Although suspicion about Kain was temporarily set aside due to the immediate need to face the Divourers, the uprooted area of Hyplisia was too vast.

The destroyed barrier was that much weakened, and there was a limit to how long they could hold out with just these people.

They needed to keep changing the tide of battle.

“But what about the guy in that forest? Don’t we need to save him?”

“We can’t save him, you fool!”

“Someone in the forest…? Are there more people who went into the forest?”

Some residents might have become isolated while going in and out of the forest.

But…

“You know, that guy who looks exactly like you, Senia!”

“…What?”

“———, ———!”

She didn’t need to hear more; no other words registered.

Someone who looked exactly like her? Who could possibly look like her in this place?

Saying “human” would be too broad to identify a specific person. Who else could share such similarities?

Suddenly, anxiety welled up. Come to think of it, she hadn’t seen him since they rushed out from the Elder’s place to get here.

No way.

Could that similarity be Kalix?

“Senia!”

“Senior Senia!”

Taking out a spare vial she had kept in her bosom and pouring it over her head, Senia dashed into the dark forest.

“Not twice… not twice…!”

It can’t be…

I can’t leave you with another debt from the Sirens in this lifetime!!

***

It was impossible.

Unlike before, nothing existed this time.

No comrades to fight alongside, no geographical advantage, no prepared Mystelis.

He had none of these. But still.

“Ugh…! You bit me, but what now? I probably taste terrible.”

-Screech!!

“You think I’ll get infected and die soon? Bite me a hundred times. It won’t work on me anyway.”

Nevertheless, I had to remain here.

I knew all too well that holding this position alone was impossible, but this was actually my way of surviving.

The young ones could only wound me, as I was immune to the Lemtert plague.

So my target was just one.

Boom-! Boom-!

“Where do you think you’re going, you bastard… You think I’ll just stand by and watch?”

Shanbereshu, the plague carrier.

If I could just mark this one massive mother, we could gradually reduce the number of Divourers and attempt a raid.

Though our forces were overwhelmingly weaker than before, with Senia and Kain, it was worth trying.

Queeee——!!

“Ugh…! Frustrated? I can tell from your ear-splitting howls.”

I kept using my magic shield as a barrier to prevent it from digging tunnels.

When the path to the lakeside through the tunnel dug by the mother was blocked, Shanbereshu and the Divourers became extremely agitated.

“Then you’ll have to deal with me. Don’t go that way!”

Boom-!

“Good. Let’s keep playing.”

Unlike the nimble younglings, that body was quite heavy, so if I focused solely on dodging, I could buy time.

Moreover, due to the main force of the subjugation team sweeping away their numbers, their quantity wasn’t as formidable as before.

Of course, it was difficult… but I hoped that all the humans and Sirens at the lakeside would work together to reach here.

I would finish everything here.

For the Lemtert plague to disappear, the new mother’s life, continuing the chain of infection, had to end.

While I held this position, they would arrive and attack.

That’s what I thought.

“…?!”

Shanbereshu’s movement just changed strangely.

What’s going on?

These creatures are monsters. Acting purely on instinct, they would look for other prey elsewhere.

So the Divourers, knowing I wasn’t prey, were splitting up and heading toward the lakeside, leaving me alone here.

Then only Shanbereshu, unaffected by the same power, should be facing me, so why did its pattern change?

Could it be that they had already united and driven away the Divourers to reach here?

‘No. The footsteps are definitely…’

Too light for multiple people.

The person appearing nearby was… Senia, covered in blue liquid.

This is the worst.

“Junon!”

“You fool…! Go back right now!!”

“What? What do you—”

Rumble—!

Before Senia could finish asking, the ground shook. In Shanbereshu’s eyes, which had detected new prey, I was no longer visible.

As if it had been waiting, it burrowed toward her, causing the ground to collapse, and Senia, losing her balance, fell toward the deadly tunnel that opened between the crevasses.

That can’t happen!

Thud.

“Ugh…!”

“Ju-Junon…”

There was no time for words.

Moving my feet as fast as possible to grab Senia’s falling hand was my limit.

With Hyplisia solution all over her, the Divourers wouldn’t swarm her. But as I feared, it had no effect on Shanbereshu, which was waiting with bloodshot eyes for Senia to fall.

Boom-! Thud!

Damn it.

Shanbereshu was determined to make Senia fall, even if it had to collapse the walls. If I lost my balance and fell too, it would truly be the end.

“…Let go and run, Junon.”

“What?”

“It’s my mistake. I’ll somehow deal with this, and if you break through the formation with your magic for the basement people, they can escape.”

Suddenly, Senia was talking nonsense.