Ch.32The Ghoul’s Altar (5)

The level of the night raid had changed.

Skeleton soldiers barely appeared. Even when they did, there were only one or two at the beginning. The main attackers were emaciated figures with sunken faces.

Despite their skinny bodies, they moved with surprising agility. Though primitive, they communicated with each other and formed formations.

Having organization meant they could exert greater strength together than the sum of their individual abilities.

In other words, they weren’t just a disorganized rabble.

Step, step, step.

The cannibals, with human skulls hanging from their waists, aligned themselves in rows and columns before simultaneously hurling femur bones.

Clack, clack!

Rachel’s spear tip deflected them all.

Rachel advanced with her spear. The mage and Tiria supported her. The whirlwind of magical and divine power broke through the monsters’ formation.

The battle continued until dawn.

The ghouls, unable to withstand the sunlight rising over the horizon, melted away with gurgling sounds. Only then did the three people get a chance to rest.

Rachel put down her spear and dusted off her hands.

“Good work, Colonel. And you too, Mage.”

“Thank you for your hard work.”

“…”

One voice was missing.

Tiria had already collapsed inside the lifeboat.

The mage and Rachel’s eyes met. No words were needed. They both got into the lifeboat and lay down.

“Um…”

“Ahem.”

Lying face to face felt awkward.

No, it was beyond awkward—a strange heat rose between them.

Even though they had slept embracing each other on the previous island, it hadn’t felt this intense.

The mage mumbled with half-open eyes.

“Thank you.”

“Huh?”

“For coming to help when I called during the fight with that man. Thank you.”

Rachel had no idea what he was talking about.

Despite surviving with this man on a deserted island for two months, they still couldn’t communicate properly. They only knew basic greetings and battle-related words.

Part of it was due to Rachel’s taciturn nature, but the main reason was the presence of Saint Tiria.

Since Tiria had joined them, Rachel had barely exchanged words with the man. Most of what he said was summarized and relayed by Tiria.

With Tiria asleep now, the two had essentially returned to how they were a month ago.

Suddenly, Rachel recalled what had happened earlier that day.

When the mage had suddenly attacked the mysterious man and severely injured him. At that moment, Rachel had been ready to spring into action even before the mage called for her.

It had been an instinctive decision.

If the mage and the stranger were in cahoots, she would intervene and disrupt their plan.

If they truly were strangers to each other, there was no reason not to help the mage attack.

“I never trusted you from the beginning.”

That’s why she had been able to act so quickly.

“Even if you betray me now, it wouldn’t affect me much. I have the Colonel. The two of us can take turns keeping watch. It might be a bit difficult, but not impossible to survive.”

“…”

“So if you’re thinking of backstabbing us, you’d better give up that idea early.”

The mage nodded slightly and closed his eyes. Rather than understanding, he seemed to have just responded randomly before falling asleep.

It was uncomfortable.

The sleeping arrangements, the meals.

Above all, the inability to communicate properly was most uncomfortable. Though she and the mage were gradually learning each other’s languages, it was still insufficient.

Should she ask the Colonel to teach her the Magic Kingdom’s language?

Whenever she considered this, she would shake her head, remembering that this man was the enemy who had killed her comrades.

Since a Purification Saint had gone missing, a new rescue team would arrive soon. They would probably deploy the Divine Engineer Corps to break whatever barrier was in place.

Yes, she just needed to endure until then.

With deepening conflict in her mind, Rachel’s eyelids also closed.

***

We slept for a good five or six hours until noon.

[‘You’re living the good life, Major.’]

When I woke up to my subordinate’s cheeky comment, I found the Valkyrie and the Saint each occupying one of my arms.

“What the…”

No wonder I felt so hot. Didn’t these women feel the heat?

I gently shook them awake. The Saint woke first and let out a shrill scream, followed by the Valkyrie who grabbed her spear from beside her head and looked around.

The two female soldiers’ reactions were as different as their usual behavior.

“Hmm.”

That was all the Valkyrie said.

“Why was I arm-in-arm with you?”

“How would I know?”

The Saint was almost turning the tables on me.

“The sun is high. Let’s eat first.”

We missed our morning routine because we slept during the day instead of night, but it couldn’t be helped. The monsters had attacked all night long.

We discussed our strategy while eating the freshwater fish and berries we had gathered.

“We need to settle this quickly.”

“I agree.”

Being all officers, we came to a decision quickly.

A prolonged battle would be disadvantageous, so after eating a hearty meal, we would head to the mountain peak where the demon likely resided.

Once we defeated the demon, the monster attacks would subside, just as they had on the previous mermaid island.

“It must be weakened after being hit by both magic stones and divine power.”

Today might be our last chance.

I gathered all the magic stones I had made. The Saint replenished her divine power through morning prayer, and the Valkyrie hid the lifeboat in a safe place under a rock.

Thus prepared, we headed toward the mountain.

Since the island wasn’t very large, climbing the mountain was easy. Following the stream meant we didn’t have to worry about thirst. We solved the only problem—hunger—by eating the berries we had brought as provisions.

“What kind of creature is that monster?”

“Judging by its appearance, it seemed like a ghoul. A monster that lures people to its dwelling and then devours them. I’m not sure about its classification—whether it’s an ordinary monster or a demon. It might even be an evolved monster.”

“Are there no other possibilities?”

“Well, there’s one, but it’s not realistic.”

“What is it?”

“A demon race.”

“You mean the direct subordinates of the Demon King?”

The Saint nodded.

“The church says they’ve been extinct for hundreds of years… but I don’t know. There’s something unsettling about this island.”

“What does the scripture say about them?”

“Hmm, it’s hard to explain. Deception? It says they’re skilled at all kinds of cunning tricks. Being directly connected to demons, they can use sacrificial magic without paying a price, and also…”

It was then that the fog began to roll in.

The sunlight suddenly disappeared, and leaves fell like someone had sprayed defoliant. The once-lush vegetation turned ashen gray.

“This is…”

The fog was so thick you couldn’t see an inch in front of you.

The Valkyrie, who had been walking ahead, was no longer visible.

“Valkyrie? Valkyrie!”

There was no answer.

Sensing something was wrong, I tried to quicken my pace, but the Saint grabbed my arm.

“Mage, stay calm.”

“Ah.”

I was momentarily flustered.

“Thank you.”

It made no sense that the Valkyrie, who would respond and come running within a second when called, couldn’t hear my voice. She must have been teleported somewhere.

“This must be the ghoul’s doing. It’s trying to separate us and hunt us one by one. There are stories of groups being sacrificed like this in the scriptures. We need to move carefully.”

“Do you have a plan?”

“We need to move forward together. Like this, staying close. Let’s head up to the mountain peak while looking for Major Brokenheart. If all else fails, we need to defeat the ghoul. That’s practically the only way to stop this fog.”

No sooner had the Saint finished speaking than animal howls came from all directions.

Not mountain beasts.

Not ordinary beasts at all.

I could sense otherworldly creatures and corrupted evil spirits approaching from unseen places, as if they had stepped out of legendary demonic realms.

The Saint gripped my arm tightly and drew out her baculus.

“Don’t leave my side. Ever.”

***

Rachel, who had been walking in front, sensed something was wrong as soon as the fog appeared and turned around.

“Colonel? Mage?”

The two people who had been chattering just moments ago had vanished. She turned back and looked around but couldn’t see anything.

After calling for them several more times, Rachel finally faced reality.

This was the monster’s doing.

“Huff.”

Rachel steadied her breathing and gripped her spear tightly.

The stone spear made by the mage. Though primitive compared to the holy spears used in modern warfare, its tip was made of magic stone, giving it tremendous destructive power.

Magic stones typically hold mana but can also contain Ekirel. When Rachel infused her divine power, the Ekirel transformed into Sephiron, making it similar to a holy spear.

As expected of a first-class mage, the efficiency of the magic stone was extraordinary. If she poured in 10 units of divine power, all 10 would be released.

Let it come if it dares.

Rachel moved forward with divine power charged in her spear tip. Running at a pace that wouldn’t deplete her stamina, she saw a shadow over two yards tall through the fog.

[“ALTARM WIE RESSAL.”]

It was the monster from yesterday.

[“NASHUR RLYEH N’GAL TITHARATH NARUZOH IGUL BON SARAMUN ZOMDAED ANHAM.”]

“What are you saying?”

Colonel Kasten had said that defeating this man wrapped in black bandages would allow them to escape the island. That he was acting as the gatekeeper of this place.

There was no other way anyway.

[“ECHITTA.”]

Rachel charged toward the man.