Ch.182Chapter 182. I’m the Only Totem in Another World (1)

# Chapter 182. I’m the Only Totem in Another World (1)

Moving with lightning speed, the giant beast snapped at Tuga’s pincer, then shook its jaw to tear it off.

The beast—a wolf monster with gleaming black fur—was, of course, Lakan.

Nike had shown signs of contacting Lakan to “prepare for contingencies,” and that turned out to be foreshadowing. Lakan had answered Nike’s call and come to help me.

He even broke the unwritten rule of the Loa world that states “one should remain in their own domain to avoid confusion among the spirit realm and believers.”

“Th-thank you.”

I blurted out in surprise.

Actually, Nike finding me was also Lakan’s guidance. The meeting seemed too contrived, so I asked Nike directly, and she readily answered.

‘Lord Lakan said I would meet an important person if I went to the Garden of Three Waters. He didn’t explicitly tell me to help you, but he probably knew I would.’

He’s the only Loa who has helped me in this spirit realm.

“Go now! Quickly!”

I could hear Nike’s voice from a distance.

“Ah.”

I’m finally coming to my senses. I was half-dazed from watching mountain-sized creatures fighting right before my eyes. There was a buzzing noise in my ears.

Getting hit by rocks that flew up when Tuga burst from the ground probably contributed to that.

– …

Lakan pushed away the stumbling Tuga who had lost its pincer, then glanced at me.

No words or revelations were exchanged. Yet I felt like he was conveying a message along the lines of “I entrust my daughter and the mortal realm to you.”

“Leave it to me!”

Quick mental recovery is my strength. I nodded to him and ran toward the spirit gate again.

Grrrr!

Woof!

I heard Lakan and Tuga engaging in physical combat behind me, but I ignored it and kept running.

Lakan is 1.5 times bigger in size. Plus, Tuga’s most threatening part—its pincer—had been torn off.

Isn’t Lakan just one-sidedly beating it up? Anyway, it wasn’t my concern. I just needed to focus on passing through the spirit gate.

“Ugh…!”

The closer I got, the hazier my body became. It felt like the components that made up my being were scattering, breaking into pieces.

I wondered if passing through here would really take me to the mortal realm. The fear of death, which I hadn’t felt for a long time, approached me.

Ah, so this is what it feels like. Strange yet familiar.

“Don’t chicken out!”

I can’t give up before even reaching the mortal realm. I stepped into the spirit gate with dignity.

“It’s just walking through, AAAAARGH~!”

My body stretched like taffy, then got sucked in.

“Ack-!”

My soul stretched, twisted, and popped as it passed through a long tunnel.

“Two, times two, is four! Ah, mommy!”

In that bizarre experience, I kept doing multiplication, subtraction, and division to somehow maintain my sanity.

It might seem crazy, but it helped more than expected. Constantly working my brain with calculations prevented my mind from going blank.

– …!

When I blinked, I was back in Totem #1. I could see Lakye looking at me with concerned eyes.

“Lord Malak!”

Numerous emotions crossed her face, with “joy” being the last one to remain.

– Sorry for the delay. I was focusing on recovery.

I tried to speak as nonchalantly as possible. My head was spinning from the chaotic multiverse experience I’d just gone through.

“Not at all. You’ve come at a good time.”

Lakye said that while there were no signs of division or evacuation yet, she could see everyone struggling. If my absence had continued for two more days, they might have had to prepare for the worst.

– Don’t worry. I’m back.

“I wasn’t worried. I believed in you, Lord Malak.”

Lakye gently stroked the totem.

I didn’t mind if her trust was just empty words. It was enough healing for my heart.

Seeing Lakye, feeling her body temperature, and conversing with her was enjoyable. This was the third time I’d experienced the “price of manifestation” pattern, but it felt new each time.

“Even though it’s late at night, everyone will be happy to wake up when they hear you’ve returned.”

Lakye was in such a good mood that she casually dropped this bombshell statement.

That’s a bit… They still need proper sleep, don’t they? I might run away not because I’m afraid of Charon, but because you won’t let me sleep.

– It’s fine. I’ll let them know tomorrow morning.

I stopped Lakye’s reckless suggestion and threw out a new topic.

– As you know, I visited the spirit realm after a long time. I went through a lot.

“I’d like to hear about it.”

Lakye’s eyes sparkled as she leaned against me. I felt momentarily dejected realizing my arms and legs were gone again.

– So Nike was…

“She was an archer. Priestess Muri didn’t mention that much…”

Lakye and I chatted away.

She really enjoyed it when I told her about my experiences in the spirit realm, “slightly” embellished. I got excited and talked a lot without realizing it.

What happened to Udan, what choices I made after seeing his condition… that was the only thing I didn’t talk about.

I had already made up my mind and decided to willingly accept my fate for the sake of those I love.

That’s all there is to it.

***

Well, nothing much happened during the past two days.

I let everyone in the tribal federation know I was alive and well, managed the territory after a long time, and mediated minor disputes.

I also conveyed that the believers who went to the spirit realm were doing well. Of course, I didn’t tell everyone—I only called acquaintances separately to talk. It’s just sad that not all who died can go to the spirit realm.

Oh, I also listened to Paya’s concerns.

“After seeing Charon, that apostate, I thought I might be able to handle necromancy. If you would permit it, I want to learn it to help Lord Malak and the tribal federation.”

She came to the altar alone, looking nervous as she said this.

– No. I cannot allow necromancy.

I naturally discouraged her. Even the timid and introverted (according to Mera) Charon went mad after learning necromancy.

Charon had been muttering to himself since I first met him. I suspect his personality became twisted while learning necromancy and hearing the voices of the dead.

The primary cause might have been the grief of losing his child, but the secondary cause was probably necromancy.

“Y-yes, of course. Since the Loa themselves have forbidden this magic…”

Paya bowed her head in deep apology.

– It’s not because it’s forbidden. Necromancy is dangerous. You might lose yourself in the process of handling the dead. Priestess Paya, I don’t want to lose you.

Well, I was fine because I borrowed the original Malak’s soul and used “zombie control” with the help of the peculiar superpower called “skills,” but real necromancy would have serious side effects.

Magic that deals with corpses can’t be normal to begin with. Even if Paya could become as strong as Lakye and be of great help, it would be a greater loss if she went mad like Charon and turned against us.

“Ah…!”

– I’d like you to stay by my side as a spirit master.

“Yes!”

Paya left, strangely delighted. That’s right. Just stay healthy and bright as a spirit master handling that monster pigeon, Tuntuni.

Right on time, I received a private message from Hanna.

[NotACatfish: I asked what you were doing 4 hours ago]

[NotACatfish: Why aren’t you answering quickly?]

[NotACatfish: Stop going silent, what could you possibly be doing?]

She seems really upset that I’ve been slow to respond while I was busy with other things in the spirit realm.

[Been busy avoiding that bastard Charon. I’ve been telling you for days. Want me to become a zombie?]

I have plenty of excuses. Since Hanna thinks I’m near the capital, she’ll probably accept this explanation.

[NotACatfish: Oh my god just]

[NotACatfish: All talk]

[It’s my fingers]

[NotACatfish: You wanna die for real?]

[NotACatfish: Anyway, don’t do anything stupid and stay hidden. Do you know how shocked I was when I saw what happened to Hanjogak?]

[OK]

Pretending to care now? You were just going to nag me for not responding to your messages.

[NotACatfish: Hey. So what were you going to say before?]

[?]

[NotACatfish: That thing you were going to continue in the morning]

Oh. She’s talking about the message I sent before the all-out battle with the demons.

[Dunno]

If that had really been the final battle, I might have told her, but Charon is still out there. I decided to play dumb.

[NotACatfish: You little]

While I was ignoring Hanna’s stream of curses, two new posts appeared simultaneously on the community board.

[LoveDeathNyan: Nyan nyan nyan~! (Returning after finishing multiverse travel)]

[LoveDeathNyan: Nyan nya nya nyang~! (Requesting not to attack as I’m heading to the tribal federation)]

A few hours later, a female knight riding a winged unicorn with a horn flew into the tribal federation.

Seeing that sight, I couldn’t help but recall the mural I saw in the cathedral.

The image of a warrior facing the demon king—an incarnation of the evil god Shamishur—while riding a winged unicorn.

“…What is this?”

“What’s going on?”

“A unicorn out of nowhere?”

Even the paladins seem confused.

This is really random.