Book 10 Chapter 15
Episode 240
"Oh, thank you very much. These days, human traffickers are becoming increasingly rampant, you see."
The village they found after leaving the mountain foothills was Byeokgyeong, under the jurisdiction of the Aran sect, one of the Seven Capitals, Six Gates, and Three Darts.
"Human traffickers?"
At a place that could be called a government office, ronin were gambling with dice, and when the tied-up bandits were handed over, one of them yawned and said this:
"They're people who kidnap perfectly healthy individuals and sell them as slaves. Witches have started disappearing one by one, so they're quite extreme."
The disappearance of witches…
It was exactly as the self-proclaimed witch Shirin had said.
A ronin, picking his front teeth with a toothpick, threw the dice and said,
"Still, it used to be so peaceful here, even though it's a remote area, because the 'Witch of the Northern Mountain' is nearby. But now it seems they're appearing here too."
"The Witch of the Northern Mountain? *That* Witch of the Northern Mountain?"
As Miria asked with surprised eyes, the ronin nodded as if he finally understood.
"Yes, you know about this. That country bumpkin from the Empire, there's more than one thing he doesn't know, you see."
Having just begun to learn the southern dialect, his pronunciation was clumsy, but there was no big problem in hearing and understanding.
"The Witch of the Northern Mountain is a highly renowned person. There's no one on this continent who doesn't know her. Though her real alias is 'Witch of Public Righteousness'."
"As far as I know, there was a Witch of the Northern Mountain even when my grandmother was alive."
"Nonsense, how could she have lived without dying? It must have been passed down through generations. To protect the seal."
A seal?
What kind of seal?
"This person, he doesn't know anything. What kind of seal would it be? It's the grotesque bird, Pyuladon, that Lady Friede sealed 300 years ago!"
Pyuladon…?
Rain's expression suddenly hardened.
Among the Uruk tribes, one of the six great demon races, there was a tribe that bred a grotesque bird named 'Tuaki'.
'Now that I think about it, the place where I fought Pyuladon was near here…'
Pyuladon was an abnormally large and fast monster even among these Tuaki, so agile and strong that back then, sealing it was the most they could do.
"What do you think? They said 'Witch of Public Righteousness,' so it's different from Shirin. She said she was the 'Witch of Justice', didn't she?"
"We can't completely rule out the possibility that Shirin is the Witch of the Northern Mountain, so it would be good to stop by on our way."
Engaging in conversation with Miria, they headed to the inn next to the government office.
In the front yard, Bart was feeding grilled fish to a kitten, and Aki and Setsun appeared to be intently watching the cat.
"Meow."
A 3-4 month old cat with black stripes on a grey base.
Setsun flinched in fear, while Aki bravely extended a hand. The cat, far from running away, seemed to enjoy the touch.
Aki's eyes sparkled as she asked,
"Why does the kitty say meow?"
Bart's answer was simple.
"Because it's cute."
"Is it cute to cry its own name?!"
"Yes."
"Aki, Nenn, did you eat well?"
Then Aki came running over, pat-pat-pat, and clung tightly to Rain's leg.
"Aki."
"Hm?"
"Akiaki."
"What's wrong with her?"
"Akiakiaki."
This is driving me crazy.
Aki always makes me laugh.
Rain smiled contentedly and stroked Aki's head.
"…"
Setsun, watching Aki happily enjoying the touch with a look of disdain, felt jealous.
"…Setsu."
"?"
"Setsusetsu."
"???"
Then, she crawled slowly across the table and into Rain's arms.
It was the ultimate attack pose, wanting only to be looked at!
As the hand that was stroking Aki moved to Setsun's head, Aki's eyes narrowed this time.
"Akiaki (Don't copy Aki)."
"Setsu (I'm not copying)."
"Akiakiaki (Otherwise, big sister might throw a punch)."
To human ears, it might sound like animal communication, but the dragonkin were clearly communicating with each other through this!
"…"
"…"
The baby dragons, who had been glaring at each other as if to devour each other, suddenly let out war cries!
"Akiakiakiakiakiakiakiakiakiakiakiakiakiaki──!"
"──Setsusetsusetsusetsusetsusetsusetsusetsusetsusetsusetsusetsusetsu!"
The sibling fight ended the next moment. The moment hands were placed equally on both their heads.
"Don't fight. I have two hands."
You mustn't fight.
Because you have to walk the same path, continuously, from now on. And probably, you won't see each other for quite a long time soon.
Rain and the baby dragons exchanging smiles seemed sorrowful to those who knew that future.
"They're so close, having to separate soon must be torture for both of them."
"Torture, torture, torture."
Rem, who had already opened a bottle of alcohol in broad daylight, shook his head.
"So, what have you decided to do, Gosu?"
"We'll leave immediately. Via the Northern Mountain route."
The Northern Mountain referred to Mt. Rosen of the Shurinaga Mountains, which was, in short, the starting point of the mountain range and could be considered the boundary of the <Shurinagaque> region.
When they fought through the torrential rain that began pouring from the foothills and reached the peak, all that awaited the party was ruins.
It seemed there had been a shrine, but even its framework had been gnawed away by something, leaving only its foundation.
"Is this the right place?"
"It's horrible."
"There's still a faint trace of toxicity."
Only two children, who somehow survived, sat huddled on the foundation, drenched in the rain.
"What happened here?"
The child who appeared to be the elder of the two, perhaps having transcended even fear, opened their mouth with hollow eyes.
"They were all eaten, by bugs."
"The witch? We came here because we heard the great witch was here. Wasn't she present?"
"They hung the witch upside down, drained all her blood, and then ate her."
"Drained her blood?"
Rain, receiving startled glances from his companions, bit his lower lip and explained.
"There's a theory that because witches interpret and wield Dragonic, the power of dragons, through magic, their blood contains mysterious powers like those of dragons."
"──!"
"We must assume they're preparing some powerful spell. They're probably planning to amplify it with the witches' blood."
But what kind of spell is it, exactly?
Given who the opponent is, I can't even guess what they're plotting.
"Child, is the witch you just spoke of the Witch of the Northern Mountain, by any chance?"
"Yes."
"Is that witch's esteemed name Shirin?"
"I can't say. They told me never to tell anyone her name."
"Don't be like that─"
"─But that wasn't her name. It was someone else."
At that moment, Rain moved his steps towards where he felt Friede's aura.
Surely not.
No, the aura was too faint to be her actual presence. What was being detected now wasn't a presence, but merely the lingering traces of a simple spell…
"…"
The place where Rain's steps stopped was, how should I put it, a gigantic tomb-like area.
But that tomb had been savagely dug up. Rather than someone digging it up from the outside, it looked as if something had burst forth from within, rising upwards…
Large footprints, not erased even by the unpleasantly damp rainwater, soon came clearly into view.
"It has awakened, Pyuladon."
What are you trying to do, Zernix?
Are you planning to destroy the holy city's barrier spread across <Shurinagaque>?
'But that doesn't make sense.'
He told me to come to the 'City of Beginning and End'.
That place is the Yellow City, <Lafitas>.
It's called that because it's where the calamity 'began' and where the Lystar party 'ended' their expedition.
'What should I call this? It feels like he's just hurrying me along rather than having a specific purpose…'
And that's what makes me so uneasy.
If he's orchestrating something in this area, wouldn't the normal thing be to try his best to stop me from coming?
* * *
Shurinaga Mountains, Northwestern Mt. Ojun.
A spirit appeared before a woman who was feeding human skulls to repulsive ancient bugs.
Resonating with the toxic aura of the spirit, the bodies of the abyss bugs swelled to double their size.
[You've worked hard, Sierra.]
Watching the skull vanish from her palm in an instant, the woman smiled seductively.
"I worked quite hard, didn't I? You definitely have to give me a reward. Hotter than last time."
Her words were playful, but she had indeed endured considerable hardship.
If it weren't for the barrier talisman Zernix gave her, she might have been defeated helplessly. As expected, being the eldest of the three sisters, her power was several times greater than that of the second sister.
Zernix curled the corner of his mouth playfully.
[Look forward to it. Ha, when I first joined the Black Church, I was called 'Pillar' even though I wasn't one. You know why, don't you?]
"Ahahahaha!"
[Hmph, anyway, that makes two. We've caught 'Public Righteousness' and 'Divine Trust', so now only one remains.]
"We caught 'Divine Trust' in the south first. But the one called 'Justice' is inside <Shurinagaque>. We can't get her out."
The Red Holy City, <Shurinagaque>.
<Shurinagaque> is surrounded by the 'Red Barrier' left by the Red Sun Shirigan, earning it an impregnable reputation during any period of upheaval.
As the fallen zone becomes more extensive due to erosion by the 'Flowing Desert', the <Shurinagaque> region remains intact precisely for this reason.
[Your head still isn't working, my sexy subordinate. There's no need to go in. We'll make her come out.]
"How?"
[Burn every village in the city region and feed them to the bugs.]
"Aha."
[Fear spreads instantly. When everyone heads towards <Shurinagaque>, kill them one by one agonizingly at the city entrance. She won't be able to bear not coming out.]
"But if we turn the entire city region into a sea of blood, the dragons might intervene, won't they?"
[Hmph, dragons can't exert any power on the Adrion Continent. The Red Dragons are already struggling just to maintain the <Ten Thousand Li of Flame>. The Yellow Dragons find it hard enough just to protect the Akrad Continent.]
My puppets have already begun the execution of Plan 606 across the Akrad Continent.
[Sporadic black magic disturbances in the six city-states, the Dunoss Kingdom, and various parts of the Empire… they won't even have time to worry about this. I've used all 887 of my puppets.]
These are individuals inserted as executives into each nation or city.
By now, the Akrad Continent must be plunged into chaos.
And in the first place, the Yellow Dragons have practically neglected the Adrion Continent, so they won't have the will or power to intervene fully now.
"Seeing you so active, it seems the blood of the priestesses' disciples is quite important, isn't it?"
In fact, strictly speaking, there's no need to collect so much blood, or burn cities and villages, or kill countless humans.
The spell is already in its final stages.
This is merely a strategic move to ensure that he doesn't stray and comes straight to me, to <Lafitas>. Something else is needed.
"But what should we do? That Butem fellow used quite a lot of that blood. You know that monster, Pyuladon? He used it to revive that."
[Hmm, it sounds like you're practically begging me to punish a colleague.]
"That ugly guy, a colleague? Ugh, no thanks. His birds even eat my adorable bugs."
There's no need for me to personally step in and punish them.
They'll all die soon anyway. By Rain Ludwig's hand, all of you, the remnants of the Black Church, amicably.
From the start, what my spell needs isn't the blood of witches.
'It's the tormented souls, corrupted by the abyss, that you all possess.'
Because of the spell inscribed by the First Pillar, that meticulous old woman, the leaders of the Black Church could not kill each other.
If one tried to kill another, the attacker's heart would explode first.
Only the First Pillar, the master of the spell, could kill anyone as they pleased.
'Even Zernix, who is superior to the leaders, could inflict painful punishment but couldn't kill.'
But what about now?
I have already secured the tormented soul of the Slayerz leader, the Dragon Slayer.
For some reason, Elamas's tormented soul vanished as if a lie, so I couldn't get my hands on it…
'But these guys are sufficient as a replacement.'
With anticipation for the coming future, Zernix curved his lips, as if ecstatic with delight.
[Is there any superior as merciful and benevolent as me? I don't bother with punishment. I just coolly let things go. So from now on, look up to me even more.]