Ch.210NPC and Spirit Keeper (7)

Who had killed her? If only he had thought a little more, there would have been no reason not to know.

“Damn it, damn it…!!”

The man, who was the last giant, swallowed the corpse of Geira, the female beastkin he loved, without chewing to use the [King Ghoul] ability.

And after time passed for her seed to settle in his body, when he finally regained his composure and thought clearly, the conclusion was simple.

“Demon…!!!”

After her death, those demon followers appeared as if they had been waiting. And that small Wrath Sin who, at a glance, might have been killed if he had risked his life to attack. If one couldn’t understand the situation after seeing all this, then what’s on their shoulders would be nothing more than filth not even fit to hang a helmet on.

He had been played by them, baited by talk of a last hope, and lost everything.

“Kugh… I’m sorry, Geira!!!”

The sorrow of losing the woman he loved, the sense of loss. And the guilt that the child she had been so excited to give birth to would now grow up without parents.

Amidst all the emotions dominating his mind, there was just one thing missing. Anger and hatred toward his enemy—’vengeance’ was not born. Only regret for his own foolishness continued to grow.

The contract with the Demon of Wrath had taken away even his mind and heart, which should have been angry at the object of his hatred.

“…This child’s name. You wanted to call her Perna.”

A name she wanted to create by combining his name and Geira’s. Honestly, he wanted to remove his own name, but he couldn’t forgive himself for losing even one thing she had left behind because of his stubbornness.

And so, until the time his child would be born from his belly. He conserved all movement and focused all his energy on the child for hundreds of years.

“…I’m sorry. This is my limit.”

Tearing open his rotting, collapsing belly to safely remove the child was not a difficult task.

Although he had managed to prevent the child, conceived in an already ‘dead’ body, from becoming ‘completely’ undead, the sight of the child who had become half-beastkin, half-undead was horrific. Surely, if she had seen it, she would have shown a sadness he had never witnessed before.

“…I’m sorry. I’m sorry. It’s my fault. Because of my foolishness…”

-Plop, plop.

Moreover, that was the last time I could see the child. The rotting eyeballs that had been showing me the child’s appearance finally became mere garbage falling to the ground, and my world lost its light. However, that wasn’t entirely bad.

“…My senses, are they tracking life force with strong undead characteristics?”

The world, dark despite being daytime, was glowing crimson with the light of various lives. I understood that this was the world as seen by the dead undead, and that’s why the undead ‘envied’ the living and tried to kill them.

And in that visible world, he could easily find two strong life forces.

“…That direction is probably the elven village… Kugh?!”

The moment he looked toward where large and small life forces were gathered and some enormous life force was visible, the ‘demon’s contract’ echoed in his head.

The contract to attack the elven village just once—something his reason had been able to resist until now—the Wrath Demon whispered for him to fulfill it, and his reason momentarily flew away. I rose from my place and began moving in that direction…

“Waaah! Waaah! Waaah!”

“!!!”

The child, who hadn’t made a crying sound even when born, started crying loudly, and I looked at my grasp in surprise. The child, smaller than my finger, was awkwardly moving both arms as if wanting to grab something. I, as if drawn in, brought my rotting finger to the child’s body.

“…I still. Still…!!”

No sound came out. There was no reason for any sound when a newborn child grabbed my rotting finger. However, the area where my heart had been in my completely dead body, the skull where my brain had been, began to properly resonate.

“…The contract is for this child to ‘survive.’ If I move from here now, this child will die immediately!!”

Having barely succeeded in shaking off the demon’s whispers, I began moving toward the other strong life force. Surely, the one with that life force would kill me. But that was actually good. Someone with such strong life force would surely not let such a young child die.

[A ghoul? This size, is it a giant who became a ghoul?]

“…Are you a spirit?”

[Oh… I’ve never heard of a giant becoming a ghoul after the extinction of the giant race, but to think it even retained its reason. Yes, I am Naiad, the highest-ranking water spirit. If an undead has come to this cave, it means you want to eat me…]

“Waaah! Waaah! Waaah!”

[…A child?]

Just as I thought the lake in the cave was rising in response to the spirit’s hostility, Perna started crying, and seeing the spirit and water column that had stopped, I slowly extended my hand and directed the child toward her.

[…What are you doing?]

“…Half of her is a beastkin child. Though she has become like this because of my foolishness and lack of strength, she is a properly living ‘person.'”

[Did you know who I was?]

“No. I just knew that a being with strong life force was here, and so I came hoping to entrust this child to you. Incidentally, I also hope you will kill me.”

[Ha! You are a lucky ghoul.]

The spirit, who uttered words I absolutely couldn’t accept, lightly waved her hand, sending a column of water to my hand, and the child was swept away by the water column to her side. If she does that, the child will get wet and freeze to death…

[I am the highest-ranking water spirit. Getting wet, losing body heat—I can control all that. Hmm, certainly. The undead traits are prominently visible, but this is a beastkin… Wait.]

“…?”

Suddenly contorting her beautiful face, the spirit held the child in her arms and looked at me with sharp eyes.

[Horse beastkin. Did you kill Geira?]

“You… know Geira?”

Because the spirit mentioned Geira’s name, I told her everything. I thought it would surely help Perna in her future life.

[…I see. So she was carrying a giant’s child. No wonder she was so happy, saying she would someday show off the male she had chosen.]

“…I’m sorry. Because I was foolish and weak…”

[Yes, you are foolish and weak. And a coward on top of that. You were not a suitable husband for Geira.]

“……”

Unable to refute the water spirit’s words, I remained silent, and she clicked her tongue and waved her hand.

[Get out. I don’t want to look at trash who talks about wanting to die despite having a child. If you follow the source of the strongest life force in this forest as you mentioned, a punishment very fitting for you will be waiting.]

“The child…”

[I said get out. Even your concern is no good for the child!]

“…Thank you.”

After bowing my head at the highest-ranking spirit’s roar, I turned my back. I considered dying right there by her hand, but my body and reason were gradually being dominated by wrath, urging me to fulfill the contract. Surely, if I chose a death like suicide now, I would turn into a mindless monster in that space where the child was, involving the child as well.

[…Tsk. They say a child cannot choose their parents, but to talk about dying when you have a child conceived through love, saved, and even born again. Death that would bring peace is too good for a youngster who doesn’t even know what his mistake is.]

In my consciousness that was gradually turning black, I thought I heard the incomprehensible voice of the highest-ranking spirit.

*

“Afterward, following the undead instinct, I charged toward the target with the strongest life force in Siltra, and when I came to my senses, I had collapsed not in front of the elven village but in front of the Spirit Tree.”

“…I didn’t know Elder had such a past.”

“Well, even if it’s Elder’s past, I don’t think he knows it himself.”

“I’m not sure if it’s right for me to say this since I’m not him, but personally, I think it’s something he could live without knowing. Human, what do you think?”

After hearing the ghoul’s story, we all fell into our own thoughts. Ha, the kids still don’t understand why Naiad was angry, and why I’m angry at this guy.

“The conclusion is the same. We’re definitely taking this stupid ghoul to Elder Perna. And, Salt Non.”

“Hmm?”

“Was there ever an attack on the elven village by this ghoul hundreds of years ago?”

“…That’s right. Come to think of it, there wasn’t. Such an attack by a huge ghoul—it’s not something that could be forgotten or never heard of.”

“I thought so.”

The [King Ghoul] is Siltra’s field boss, but it seems that unlike in the game, the Spirit Tree bound him.

As punishment for this idiot who didn’t fulfill his parental role, as Naiad said. And probably in that process…

“So the Wrath Demon found an opening to approach the Spirit Tree and the Grand Elder.”

“That’s probably it.”

When I voiced my hypothesis, Salt Non summarized it, and the ghoul silently confirmed it. And probably because of that, the Spirit King came to the Spirit Tree’s side… and likely fell into the situation he described.

“I’ve said everything I needed to say. Even if you drag me away, I won’t be able to resist. But let me tell you clearly. If you retreat from here, you will face the penalty imposed by the Spirit Tree…”

“No. If this is the punishment the Spirit Tree gave you, there’s no reason for it to send us back.”

“…What?”

Understanding the whole situation, I stood once again in front of the massive door, took a deep breath, and shouted.

“Spirit Tree!! I know you’re watching!! Or at least listening!! I am Jack, the human who killed the Wrath Sin and the Grand Elder who sold his soul to the demon!! I understand roughly why you punished this idiot and why you set tasks for those who reach you!! There’s no need to test us further!!! Stop being a voyeur and open the door right now!!”

Everyone fell silent, seemingly surprised by my sudden outburst, and after waiting a moment and seeing the door wasn’t opening, I immediately raised my fist.

“Everyone get behind me. I’m going to smash this whole place to pie…?”

-Kuung.

As Miho, Chikuyo, and Salt Non rushed to my side, the massive door began to open with a majestic sound. Hmph! Should have opened right away, why test my patie…?

-Thud. Thud. Thud. Thud.

“Huh?”

“What…?”

“…Mi-Miho! Co-cover your eyes!!”

“Uh, what? Sis?!”

As the massive door opened, a green forest even more verdant than Siltra’s forest came into view. And a massive tree, which might be larger than Gorga at his maximum size, immediately entered our sight, drawing everyone’s attention…

-Thud. Thud. Thud. Thud.

“What on earth is that… What is that?”

“Shit… Is this why you asked to be killed? Spirit King?”

Seeing the huge crimson puppet holding onto the massive tree and swaying its hips, I involuntarily covered my eyes and clicked my tongue, while Chikuyo, who had hurriedly covered Miho’s eyes, was completely frozen in place.

“…What on earth is it doing? Why, just why?! It’s moving its hips like it’s making babies with a tree hole?!”

Before we could be impressed by the majestic fantasy nature, we all sighed at the sight of the Spirit King engaged in tree-humping behavior.