Ch.176Chapter 176. Survivor..?

Choosing to stay here when faced with a safe escape opportunity would be considered foolish by anyone.

Despite having reason to dissuade me, the expedition members respected my decision and prepared to depart.

It made sense—there was no reason for them to remain in this dangerous place out of mere camaraderie, and they too had homes to return to and families to protect, so they’d naturally want to avoid unnecessary risks.

“…I’m sorry, everyone. That I can’t return with you.”

“No, Hero, you must have your reasons.”

Sanson spoke on behalf of the expedition, showing both respect and a hint of bitterness.

As he stood at the exit looking up at the Papal Palace, I could sense a vague worry in his gaze.

“But before we part, may I ask you one thing?”

That concern was surely directed toward the girl who had entered ahead of us.

Sensing this, my steps paused at his question, and I slowly turned my head toward him.

“About Flan’s power… about her true identity, did you already know?”

Come to think of it, he must have witnessed that child’s capabilities firsthand when I lost consciousness.

Having seen all those monsters being slaughtered by that small body, he wouldn’t dare follow her directly into danger.

“I’ll explain when I return.”

And I too had witnessed her advance, realizing I couldn’t stand beside her.

Yet I remained here solely because Irie’s guidance led into this city.

Though I couldn’t guarantee I would encounter that child at the end, I was moving forward now only with the vague sense that I needed to follow the note’s guidance, whatever might await me.

“…Then I’ll see you back at the capital.”

With that, the expedition members wished me good fortune and departed in their carriage.

After turning my back to them, I entered the city and unfolded Irie’s note once more.

[My prophecy was that all expedition members would safely escape the fallen sanctuary and return to the Empire.]

The first sentence indicated that I too should have left this city with the departed expedition.

That meant I was now acting contrary to the prophecy, but below this was a much longer passage.

[However, due to what happened there, the Transcendent who accompanied you likely became capricious. This is something you, Hyoseong, reading this note, are probably already keenly aware of.]

Yes, Flan was indeed a being called a Transcendent, and I hadn’t anticipated her actions at all.

And Irie’s prophecies were particularly vulnerable to the whims of Transcendents.

What was written in this note considered the possibility that the original future might change due to Flan’s capriciousness.

[If the prophecy I envisioned has truly changed… personally, I would advise you to destroy this note immediately and leave that place quickly. After all, a future where a Transcendent has intervened can be called an ‘unknown territory’ that no one can predict.]

[But I want you to continue your mission as a savior with integrity. And my duty, as someone meant to assist you, is not to force unconditional safety or risk upon you, but to provide you with choices.]

Whether to choose safety or to pursue my mission as a savior while accepting the risks.

Realizing that I had been given two choices in this moment when the future had been overturned, I swallowed hard and turned my attention to the next page.

[Assuming the future has been distorted, I will offer you two choices, Hyoseong.]

[If you wish to avoid risk, please follow the expedition back to the capital. Though not everyone will return together, this alone will ensure the safety of both the expedition and yourself.]

The first option came to me as a strong temptation.

The problems unfolding in this land were beyond my ability to handle alone, and though I worried about Flan who had entered for some reason, her power was something I couldn’t match right now.

Above all, Irie who left this note was expecting a child.

Since we were planning to hold our ceremony together, entering this dangerous place would put many things at risk.

But…

[However, if you wish to pursue your mission despite not knowing what awaits ahead…]

If she was offering another option, I should at least check what it entailed.

[Please enter the location specified in this letter and follow that path to meet a certain individual. The story you hear from that person will have a significant impact on how you establish your course of action going forward.]

“…A survivor?”

Survivor. That was the first thing that came to mind reading this passage.

Being told to meet someone and hear their story could be interpreted to mean there were still living people in this city teeming with monsters.

I wasn’t sure if there really could be survivors in such a city, but since this was Irie’s prophecy, she wouldn’t have written this without reason.

[What you do after hearing that story, I leave to you. Please return safely…]

Other questions came to mind, but the note contained no further advice.

Ultimately, I realized the final decision rested with me as I put away the note and quietly shifted my gaze forward.

Following the map, I arrived at an entrance to the sewers that ran throughout the city.

This place, designed to drain rainwater and wastewater, could be considered the darkest location in this holy land.

-Kyaaaoaa! Kyaaaoaaa!!!

At that moment, fierce screams echoed from the Papal Palace.

As shadows of monsters hidden throughout the buildings began to cast over the streets again, a sense of urgency gradually grew within me.

I thought about how difficult it would be to survive alone in this city, and wondered if that child who entered the Papal Palace alone would be safe.

“…Well, I have to go anyway.”

But this too was a risk I needed to bear to become the savior she spoke of.

Suppressing these conflicting thoughts, I immediately stepped into the sewer entrance.

I carried a vague hope that the child who had left me behind would be safe, and that everything would turn out well at the end of this path.

***

-Splash, splash.

As expected, the sewer I entered was dark and damp.

The water pooled in the drainage channel had the distinctive stickiness of filth, and the smell of blood indicated that what covered my feet had been spilled from living beings.

Suppressing the unpleasantness this caused, I manifested a weapon engraved with runes, using its light to illuminate my path as I continued through the sewer.

After some time had passed.

-Kaaaaaaak!

My body froze at the scream that erupted from the opposite direction.

As I held my illuminated weapon forward, I saw something emerge from a corner passage and slam its head against the wall.

-Thud, thud!

It was a monster repeatedly striking the wall with its large body.

Like the others I had encountered, it had a beast-like form, but its body was covered with something closer to feathers than fur.

More bird than beast… a crow?

-Kyaoaa! Aaaaaaaaaak!

As I raised my weapon cautiously, the monster’s gaze gradually moved toward my light.

Blood tears flowed from the center of its feather-buried head, and its beak was sharper than the sword in my hand.

The drool flowing between the abnormally protruding teeth inside revealed that what it felt toward me was hunger.

-Kaa, kaaaaa…

The monster, having noticed me, stepped forward with its grotesquely distorted feet.

Damn, I guess hoping for safety even in the sewers was too much to ask.

Though I wanted to avoid fighting if possible, I had no choice. As I began channeling mana into my weapon to prepare for battle…

“…Fa, mil.”

A voice leaked from the opening beak during our standoff…

Yes, it wasn’t an animal’s cry.

What I heard was clearly language that humans could understand.

“Famil…iar… sm, ell…”

What’s this? Could it be maintaining consciousness?

No, even if it maintained consciousness, that doesn’t necessarily mean it has no hostility.

Thinking I should observe for now, I remained tense as the crow-shaped monster sat on the floor and began exerting force on its body.

“Agh, aaah…!”

With painful groans, changes began occurring in its physical form.

Its body, which had been twice my size, shrank at a noticeable speed with creaking sounds, eventually reducing to the size of an adult male.

The feathers that had covered its body quickly disappeared as if absorbing into the skin, leaving only skin that had lost its pigmentation, appearing white.

“Huff, huff.”

The monster, having returned to human form, exhaled laboriously and began raising its head toward me.

As if to confirm the completely unexpected situation of a monster returning to human form.

“Hey, can you hear me? Hey!”

Still wary of potential danger, I demanded an answer while standing my ground, and the other person slowly began to raise his collapsed body toward me.

“Familiar voice… I wondered who it was, but it’s really you?”

“Wait, you’re…?”

“Haha. Well, I’ve unintentionally shown you an unsightly appearance.”

The man raised his head with a laugh.

Though soaked in sweat and blood, his face was familiar to me.

Although we hadn’t met many times, he had left a striking impression each time… no, he was a vampire after all.

“It’s been a long time, young man. Have you been well?”

Virgil Huntress.

A wanted criminal with a notorious reputation in the Empire and a vampire.

“Virgil, why on earth…”

Why such a person would appear in a place like this, and why he had been writhing in the sewer in the form of a monster until he recognized me.

To my confused outburst, he chuckled as if it were nothing and answered.

“It’s nothing special. I was conducting an investigation for personal reasons… and ended up taking quite a beating.”

“Beaten… here?”

“Living a long life isn’t always a good thing. My thinking became too rigid… I was slow to respond to unexpected counterattacks.”

Virgil spat blood and looked down at his hand.

Seeing the feathers sprouting from it, he smiled awkwardly and moved his haggard gaze toward me.

“Isn’t it amusing? The noble of the night who claimed to be of lofty and beautiful birth, thrown into the depths underground, reduced to wallowing in filth.”

Convulsions continued throughout his body even as he faced me.

The creaking sounds coming from various parts indicated that he was consciously suppressing his body from reverting to its previous form.

He had only temporarily regained his senses after recognizing my presence, but he was currently in a state where it wouldn’t be strange if he reverted to his previous form at any moment.

“That aside… why are you here?”

Yet even in this state, he was facing me directly.

Despite the fact that he would soon revert to his previous form and might never return to normal again…

“You must have already seen what happened in this city… wouldn’t it be better to ignore this place and go find your love?”

As if trying not to lose himself until the very end, he waited for my answer with a pained expression.

Facing this noble of the night, I quietly took out the note from my pocket and, comparing its contents with the person before me, said quietly:

“I’m here because I want to hear a story from you.”

“From me?”

“Yes, anything.”

The note clearly referred to him.

Although it might be a stretch to call him a survivor as I had initially thought, he was likely the only being in this land with whom I could communicate.

“Hehe, I see… You’ve come to hear this old man’s last words, following that prophet girl’s instructions.”

He too seemed to have roughly understood the situation after seeing the note in my hand.

Then, turning his back to me, he began walking down the dark passage with trembling steps.

“This isn’t a good place for conversation… Follow me, and I’ll answer what you’re curious about.”

His steps, though trembling as if about to collapse at any moment, maintained their direction.

Before following him, I exhaled a held breath and asked him what I was most curious about.

“…Who.”

Why had all the people in the sanctuary turned into monsters, and what connection did vampires and beastmen have to this place?

And why had he entered such a place and fallen to the state of a monster?

“Do you know who caused all this?”

A question to definitively identify the mastermind behind everything.