Ch.203203. Time of Distortion (1)

‘What is this noise about…’

I was vaguely aware that the Lakan were in battle.

I knew they fought by surrounding themselves with magical energy, transforming into beast-like forms similar to enhancement magic, but the battle noise seemed to be divided into two factions.

In other words, Lycan were invading Lakan. That seemed to be the case, so I hurriedly climbed over the rock wall to join the battle.

But after the battle ended.

Thud!

Each of them knelt down and bowed their heads.

Realizing that they were directing this at him, Junon was too stunned to say a word. What was even more remarkable?

The faces that had been filled with emptiness and hollowness regained their vitality, and then,

“O Guide…!”

That’s what they said.

‘What on earth are they talking about…?’

While it wasn’t inappropriate behavior toward someone who helped in a dangerous situation, these people were strangely focusing their attention in a different direction.

“Huh? That thing around his neck, could it possibly be…”

“Oh? This… well…”

“The Sirens…! They sent you to us, didn’t they?!”

The one who appeared to be the leader of the Lakan suddenly stood up, recognizing the pendant. Come to think of it, I had heard the term “guide” somewhere else too.

The elder who had recently insisted I take the pendant.

The name “Kalix” had also come up among the Sirens.

Senia had said she was summoned by the Sirens. If these Lakan people were also hoping for the existence of Kalix, they might possess crucial information.

“Let’s talk about the details later and focus on treatment first.”

Since it wasn’t appropriate to continue talking while they were kneeling with bowed heads, Junon helped them up and prioritized recovery and treatment.

Soon, including the Lakan guide who had followed him, it seemed the conversation would be quite lengthy.

***

“Kalix…”

If he had to pick the topic they discussed the longest, it would definitely be about that word.

Just like the Sirens, these Lakan people also showed extremely passionate reactions to it.

He wanted to boldly say he didn’t know what it meant, but with all these expectant gazes upon him, he could hardly deny it outright…

However, one thing he could definitely conclude was that unlike the Sirens, they claimed they had never attempted to summon Kalix.

The identity of whoever summoned him continued to remain a mystery.

“I hate to disappoint you, but I’m really not your savior.”

I’m just someone who experienced one failed life.

…No, perhaps it should be two. That might not matter much now, but anyway, that’s how it is.

That’s why the expectant looks in the Lakans’ eyes were so burdensome.

“Well, I’ll have to find a way to clear up the misunderstanding gradually. Like with the Sirens, I just need to find a way to prove it.”

For now, one valid point was that these people wouldn’t turn into Lycan.

When I faced the rampaging Lycan around the city, I had anticipated it, but the Lycan were not easy opponents.

When dealing with them alongside the Tembris party, we had handled the Lycan more easily with proper formation and natural coordination, focusing firepower with Aris, Michelle, and Charlotte who possessed compatible magic. But charging in alone now was somewhat challenging.

Still, I had prepared thoroughly, so dealing with the Lycan went fairly well.

As werewolves with prominent characteristics, if confronted head-on, it was possible to counter their attack power with magic armor. By restricting their movement and exploiting their narrow field of vision, the iron chains attached to my gauntlets proved highly effective.

As a result, although there was some pressure in facing them alone, the defensive battle was successful thanks to the Lakan who didn’t give up fighting.

‘But this is still… hard to get used to.’

It’s difficult to overlook the fact that a familiar sensation has taken root in my body.

When I used Anti-Cast to reverse the flow of magical energy and knock them unconscious, it felt like that all-too-familiar sensation had become ingrained in me again.

Thinking it might not be the case, I let magical energy flow into the fallen Lycan’s body, but…

“…Damn it.”

Again, the location was identical. The Lycan, whom I had judged to be enemies to humans, showed no significant difference in the location of their magical circuits compared to the Lakan.

I had confirmed not just through words but with my own eyes that they too were likely human until recently.

To put it bluntly, these Lycan had become Lakan through some method.

As for the cause… there’s no need to even mention it.

I vaguely recall its appearance.

A grotesque monster with six supporting masses extending like branches from its torso instead of arms and legs, each ending with an eyeball—this was the culprit behind such acts.

It couldn’t be called human, and it was strange to call it just a monster, but I remember its name.

Pimpert of Distortion.

That was the name of this named monster.

“Have you confirmed everything you needed to?”

“Yes, well… for now.”

When the Lakan guide approached and asked, Junon answered somewhat reluctantly despite his unease.

“…So? Did you discover anything new?”

“…”

“You can be direct. We Lakan are trying to grasp at any clue.”

He wasn’t sure how to explain about Pimpert. All he knew was that it was already identified as the cause of Lakan turning into Lycan, so there wasn’t much more to investigate.

Yes. Right now, there wasn’t really a solution.

Whether in his previous life or now, without knowing the conditions for Pimpert’s appearance, it couldn’t be prevented. That meant the orthodox approach was to subdue the Lycan and hunt down the monster.

“Sir, do you remember the pouch I brought you? The one I asked you to spread throughout the village.”

“Hmm? Ah, that disc-shaped thing. I activated it as you instructed, but what exactly is it? It seemed like some kind of artifact.”

“It’s a magical tool that interferes with mental interference in the vicinity. I was trying to reduce the damage with it.”

Since the main attack of the named monster Pimpert was based on sound waves that disturb the mind rather than physical combat, it was necessary to somehow lead it into physical battle.

Therefore, the biggest variable in this hunt was the Lycan’s offensive.

The number subdued in this village was quite significant, so as long as the Lakan weren’t brainwashed from now on, it would be fine. The artifact was brought with the intention of reducing the number of Lycan in the first place.

“After hearing what you said, everyone did their part… but mental interference resistance? Why such a thing?”

“What? Because we need to prevent the Lakan from being brainwashed by that creature’s power. Isn’t that why you were fighting against your comrades who had become Lycan?”

Junon tilted his head at the Lakan’s question. He thought the explanation about blocking mental interference magic would clear things up, but had something been miscommunicated?

That was not the case at all.

“We Lakan inherently have considerable resistance to interference magic, so we aren’t easily swayed by such magic.”

“Not easily swayed? What do you mean…?”

“You might think our power is transforming into werewolves, but mental interference resistance—that’s the unique power of the Lakan. That’s why mental manipulation or illusion magic doesn’t work on us at all.”

It was a contradiction.

If mental manipulation or illusion magic didn’t work on them, then why had the Lakan transformed into Lycan monsters?

“Wasn’t it because you were brainwashed by that damn Beholder and went on a rampage as Lycan monsters?”

“Hmm? No. The problem we’re facing is because of some human.”

Some human?

I definitely hunted down Pimpert of Distortion in the past, just one monster.

As I pondered this question, the Lakan carefully explained the situation.

“Some human came and injected an ampoule into our fallen comrades. That was the first time we were forcibly turned into Lycan.”

“So this phenomenon started when that human… injected the ampoule?”

“Yes. We don’t know much either, but there was always a separate entity holding that ampoule behind the scenes during our battles. Today, it seems they were determined to kill us, so we didn’t see them.”

Not long after, Junon arrived at another truth.

The mention of an ampoule immediately made him think of Demian, and it wasn’t difficult to guess the identity of the human the Lakan had encountered. It perfectly matched the movements of the one who reportedly had connections with the temple.

But was this why using Anti-Cast to try to break the brainwashing had been utterly useless?

It wasn’t mere brainwashing.

Upon verification, the Lakan’s mental interference resistance system was not insignificant. Until they collapsed.

‘Such a cruel leash they put on them…!’

In other words, they were pushed to the brink of collapse, drained of all strength. In that state, they were injected with the ampoule, which stripped away their reason.

The Lakan who fell into the Archbishop’s grasp had their reason fly away as if leashed, and after falling under Pimpert’s illusion, they degenerated into mere wolves.

Once their minds collapsed like that, they could never again exert their previous interference resistance, trapped in an infinite prison.

In a way, they might have been the easiest to counter Pimpert, but due to the Archbishop’s cunning divisiveness, the Lakan were all isolated.

It was a terrible yoke.

But what was more frightening was that he had discovered the Archbishop’s plan.

“Sir, how well do the Lakan resist mental brainwashing?”

“Well, if it’s just the wavelength of the Beholder you mentioned, we can break free with a minimal amount of magical energy.”

“So normally, you wouldn’t fall victim to that creature?”

“That’s right, but…?”

“We need to leave for Levrant with all the Lakan immediately. Right now!!”

Algenib Province and Levrant. Although he had limited it to those areas, things were different from the past.

The Archbishop’s target was the entire Grand Duchy.

He was trying to use Pimpert’s power to bring all humans in the Grand Duchy under his control!

“What do you mean…”

“I guarantee this is the only chance to clear up the misunderstanding. If we go right now, we won’t be too late…”

Kiiiiing-!

Before he could finish his sentence, the chilling sound of a ritual activation spread throughout Algenib Province.

An eerie sensation ran down Junon’s spine. Then, the sound of blade fighting began not far away, and,

Awoooooo─!!

Once again, the howls of wolves echoed. A completely different number was resonating from the direction of Levrant.

“Damn it!!”

“Y-you!!”

“Don’t forget. You must come to Levrant!!”

***

There was once a time when he lived in the Artena Empire, not the Ardelion Grand Duchy.

It was a dazzlingly bright country where light always streamed in.

But their society was a garbage dump full of murky and dirty things.

Behind the scenes, it was always filled with people full of deceit, envying and jealous of their fellow humans.

Endless envy and jealousy continued.

Whether it was power, wealth, or other aspects like appearance, personality, family background, or even trivial matters—in all respects, they were beings who lived harboring envy and jealousy.

It was in this context that he began researching the ritual of sacrificial offering, which could eliminate such filthy beings while inheriting their power intact.

The completed sacrificial offering ritual began to spread gradually throughout the empire. Evil ones disappeared one by one.

Then one day, the sacrificial offering rituals began to be sealed one after another.

As a man, he couldn’t understand. He was willing to handle society’s evils with his own hands, to eliminate those surrounded by jealousy and envy with their ugly inner thoughts, so why were they sealing this?

In the end, he had to flee.

But there weren’t many places to escape to. Finally, the man chose to trust in God and entrust his body to the sea.

“My, I’ve fallen into unnecessary reminiscence.”

The man who entrusted himself to the sea miraculously reached the Grand Duchy, and before he knew it, he had become a devotee who believed in God above all else.

He chuckled and thoroughly brushed away the embers of the past from his heart.

“Listen well, Pimpert. Humans are beings who always live with snake-like natures inside them. And those,”

Whiiing-

Another activation ritual overlapped on top of the existing one, covering a wide area.

“The closer they are to each other, the more they hide their disgustingly ugly inner thoughts. That’s the hideous side of humanity.”

The Archbishop transferred the mana he had accumulated to Pimpert.

The old man, now corrupted and a target for elimination, turned his gaze bitterly toward Levrant.

Two massive activation formations received enormous magical power and activated.

Magic that could never be activated with the magical power of a single human was emitted throughout Algenib Province and the capital Levrant.

Happy moments were pierced by the cold dagger of truth that had been unknown.

Momentary memories were filled with betrayal and deception.

All memories were distorted, covered by human instincts of jealousy and envy.

Thus, amplifying negative emotions turned the closest relationships into worse than enemies.

That was the truth of the wavelength emitted by Pimpert of Distortion.

The memories of those who had met, spent time together, and shared joys and sorrows were thus damaged and manipulated.

From the moment they were shot, they would walk in distorted time forever until the sorcerer’s power was exhausted.

Drawing swords, channeling magical power to cast spells, harboring hostility toward everyone in sight and launching attacks.

The wavelength that reached Levrant indiscriminately ate away at people’s memories. An endless time of distortion began, and each person’s most cherished relationships began to go awry as they clutched their heads.

But this distorted illusion didn’t consume everything.

“People who’ve survived death together wouldn’t do such things to each other.”

“We can’t forget our comrades one by one. We absolutely won’t forget!”

“I don’t know who’s playing this prank, but it’s quite vexing.”

There was camaraderie. Those who had been to the threshold of death together wouldn’t envy, be jealous of, or belittle each other. The strong bond of camaraderie they shared directly shattered the absurd distortion.

“There’s no way you would point a sword at me!!!”

Friendship existed. No matter how distorted time became, it couldn’t cool this burning friendship; the intense heat melted away the terrible memories.

Students who were finding their sanity through various elements. Those who had returned from the brink of death with Junon had been given some kind of motivation.

It was an extreme concentration of human bonds necessary for survival.

One common factor among those who broke through the interference on their own was that they had received letters containing Junon’s warning, but was it really because of these letters?

Those who would have had to wander endlessly through distorted memories now possessed a resilience different from before.

─Ugh, hnngh…! You bastard. After all I’ve done for you…!

─I’m sick of seeing you pretend to be nice while badmouthing me behind my back!!

Of course, it can’t be denied that many more couldn’t escape.

“Ah, that letter!”

The contents of Junon’s letter began to come back to them one by one, and they realized that others were experiencing the same terrible hallucinations they had.

“Hey, I think we need to stop them.”

“Should we each take one? Ugh… there are too many.”

“We have to stop them first. We can’t let them get seriously hurt.”

“John, you take the one on the right… huh?”

Before they could fumble around, someone appeared and quickly bound two people who were about to fight with iron chains, then lightly touched their carotid arteries.

“He’s wearing a hood, but still.”

“Now I can tell just by looking.”

“Seems like you managed to break free. Then help me out. Don’t let people get hurt.”

“We were about to step in if you hadn’t!”

The two were relieved at the sight of Junon, who had appeared at a critical moment as always.

Although they would have quite a job ahead of them since there were many people to knock unconscious, they had reinforcements.

“Senior! I brought everyone here!”

Those who were actively cooperating despite what they had just seen.

Among them was even the academy’s idol.

‘This is unexpected.’

He had planned to easily rescue a few through the letters and handle most of the work himself.

Not resolving the deeply rooted perception was part of this approach. Pimpert’s memory distortion wouldn’t work on those who already harbored ill feelings.

Still, if asked about this situation?

“Just knock them unconscious. Don’t hurt them by failing to control your strength.”

It was going well. Well enough that he could say this with a slight smile.