Ch 128
『Suspicious Fluid』
You may be proud!
You protected the uniqueness of countless individuals by defeating the Face Thief!
Although, thanks to you, the Hero and Special Agents, among others, met their complete demise.
There is no reason to feel guilt.
The Face Thief wouldn’t have stolen their faces to become a kind neighbor and a lovely family, would they?
Therefore, it is proof of glory!
This is a lump of suspicious fluid that flowed from the body of the deceased Face Thief.
Its unique viscosity, which maintains its shape even under external stimuli, induces the illusion that it is alive.
Perhaps, it really might be alive.
If so, what is the driving force that makes it move?
──────────
1. Destroy
2. Pick Up
3. Ignore.
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▶2. Pick Up
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As I bring my hand closer, it actively entwines.
As if it were separated from your body.
Perhaps, as if you were separated from it.
Now that the Face Thief is dead, is it looking for a new friend?
You, remembering his end, recoil in horror and distance yourself from it.
──────────
▶1. Destroy
──────────
Did I get rid of it!?
Oh, no, it wasn’t.
It maintains its original form even under your most powerful attack.
Don’t be discouraged; the attempt was good.
Thanks to you, we found out that ordinary attacks don’t work on it, right?
You suddenly feel admiration for the Face Thief.
He skillfully swallowed such a thing, didn’t he?
Ah! Perhaps when he swallowed it, its state was a little different.
Whatever that state was, wasn’t it better than now, where it looks like it was just born from a corpse?
A thought crosses your mind, along with great anxiety.
Perhaps this is not a kind little friend that grants its master mysterious abilities, but a greedy being that endlessly seeks power and existence.
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『Ominous Fluid』
The Face Thief is dead.
Nevertheless, I still feel his energy.
Squirm.
Hey, didn’t that just move?
-Sssaaaaaaa.
It’s as if someone is talking to you.
It must be a misconception.
An ominous aura pervades the place.
Ah. This is definitely not a misconception.
──────────
1. Ignore
2. Ignore
3. Ignore
──────────
▶3. Ignore
──────────
You move away from it, leaving behind your unease.
──────────
…
…
…
──────────
The sky is red, and the earth is parched.
A blade of grass comes into your view.
You know what that grass is.
A veteran weed, famous for its tenacity, bestowed with glorious epithets like “devil’s,” “damned,” and “cursed” by farmers.
As you touch the weed, it crumbles like dust.
All the blessings and life force that make up the place seem to have been greedily devoured by something.
You know this place.
Was this place always this desolate?
Not as far as you remember.
Everything in the world changes, but this place has changed too much.
Of course, you don’t intend to blame the innocent passage of time.
Because you know who the culprit of this cruel change is.
『Faceless One’s Remains』
You remember it.
It seems to have nunchi, remembering you as well.
Even though both of you have changed so much, you recognize each other at a glance.
This could be considered fate, but you don’t feel any pleasant emotions.
Now you know exactly what it is.
-Thump!
Its form, which pulsed like a fetus, begins to change.
You witness the return of the Great Evil.
▶Fate 80: The Face-Seeking One
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✦✦✦
“Oh my, Ber!!! Why did you eat that?!”
Everyone in the place fell silent.
Because they had nothing to say.
“…Oops!”
Meanwhile.
A tall woman standing beside Pallag and Dray finally regained consciousness.
Her name is Belota.
One of the six holy swords of the First Hero.
She was a scholar belonging to the ‘Jane’ Hero Party, which possessed the 6th sword.
For some reason, she visited Bondales with the party and was caught in Dray’s, the Talent Scout’s, information network, and in the process, joined the investigation team to identify the ‘fluid’.
Thus, she proved her worth as a scholar of the Hero Party.
Countless scholars came, drawn by the names of Frozen Breath and the Talent Scout.
Among them, it was Belota who most accurately estimated the identity of the ‘fluid’.
Therefore, Belota understood better than anyone else here.
The seriousness of the situation unfolding before her eyes.
‘They accepted the Faceless One’s Remains…!’
The Faceless One’s Remains.
It was a fragment of ‘The Face-Seeking One’, a high-ranking demon with a noble title even among demons.
It could have become an artifact that grants the power of a high-ranking demon,
or it could have become an egg containing the existence of a high-ranking demon.
The fluid Belota last saw was closer to the latter than the former.
It accumulated vast power within the host, and upon the host’s death, it absorbed that power and life.
It was on the verge of ‘blooming’.
Currently, it’s just a mass of vast power, but if a few conditions are met, a self and ‘denial’ would be imbued with that power.
It is the return of the demon.
In short.
That young spirit girl had essentially accepted a demon fetus into her body.
It was a reckless act that could even corrupt and lead to the downfall of even the dense energy of a high-ranking spirit.
There was no way a young spirit could handle it.
The young spirit’s energy will be corrupted in an instant.
What will happen next?
The spirit’s corruption?
Or, the return of the demon?
Whatever it was, considering the vastness and nature of the power contained within the fluid, it was certain to lead to a terrible outcome.
“You!!!”
Belota, having finished all that thinking in an instant, urgently shouted towards Lisir, the master of the young spirit girl.
“You must take that fluid out of the child’s body right now!”
“Ah, yes!”
Lisir was startled, grabbed the young spirit girl under her arms, and lifted her up.
Burp!
The young spirit girl frowned her neat eyebrows, showing her anger at the unpleasant taste, but still entrusted her body to his touch.
The young spirit girl’s arms and legs hung limp.
Her eyes meet Lisir’s.
“Ber, why did you do that!”
“I thought it would be delicious! But it’s not!”
“You shouldn’t do that!”
“I shouldn’t!? Okay! Then it won’t be tasteless!!!”
“Oh, how commendable━ no, that’s not it. That just now! You shouldn’t eat that! You have to spit it out!”
“Spit it out!? Okay!!!”
The Crybaby Spirit’s small hands clenched with all their might.
“!!!”
The eyebrows depicting anger curved even more sharply.
How long had the Crybaby Spirit been straining its strength?
Pshh.
The Crybaby Spirit’s chest heaved slightly, and wind escaped from its mouth.
The meaning of that action was self-evident.
The Faceless One’s Remains.
Digested within the young spirit girl.
“…”
Belota covered her wide-open mouth with her hand.
What am I seeing right now!?
She was a brilliant scholar and intellectual.
Naturally, she didn’t take the situation unfolding before her eyes at face value.
A young spirit absorbing a demon fetus?
‘That’s impossible!’
What is seen is not necessarily all there is.
Instead of being reassured, additional measures are needed.
This requires the full cooperation of the Spirit Master, and in the worst case, the spirit’s annihilation must be accepted.
Belota concluded as such.
There was no room for doubt.
It was the best judgment that could not be more rational.
In fact, Dray and Pallag would likely be thinking the same thing.
‘If Frozen Breath and the Talent Scout say so, that Spirit Master will have no choice but to cooperate!’
Belota, having made her judgment, turned her gaze to Pallag and Dray.
To confirm their reactions, undoubtedly having reached the same conclusion as herself.
“Duke Pallag. Could that, by any chance, have been absorbed? The fluid, into Lisir’s ‘spirit’?”
“It seems so. Judging by how exceptionally stable the ‘spirit’s’ energy is.”
“Then…”
That’s right!
Tell me!
Dray looked at Lisir and his spirit.
Belota urged his actions in her heart.
“Everything is solved!”
“?”
The head tilts slightly.
The eyes widen.
That was Belota’s expression.
-What are you saying?
Such a voice seemed to be heard.
Belota remembers.
Throughout the investigation, Dray’s persistent questioning, bordering on interrogation, alongside Pallag.
He absorbed information at an astonishing speed, perfectly keeping up with the flow of conversation that even other scholars struggled to follow, and sometimes even surpassing them.
Belota had been overwhelmed by Dray through numerous such experiences.
It was fortunate that she could seize the initiative in the conversation by using her knowledge of the fluid; if they had met in a different setting, she would have been helplessly swayed by him.
Therefore, Belota could not hide her confusion.
That Talent Scout, showing such a lackluster reaction?
Feeling a slight headache, she looked at Pallag.
Unlike herself, as an Archmage, he should be able to correct the foolish actions of a Great Noble.
After deep contemplation, the Archmage nodded and said.
“Yes. As you said, it seems everything is resolved.”
“Wa, wait a minute!”
Belota, unable to bear it any longer, rushed towards them.
“Ev, everyone…? Perhaps, was my explanation insufficient!?”
“Hmm? No. Belota. You fulfilled your role admirably. You deduced the identity of the fluid, which no one else could figure out, and presented valid evidence. Furthermore, you attempted to present the correct approach and solution. It was an impressive performance. I’ll keep it in mind.”
Belota’s confusion intensified at their reaction.
Until just now, she thought their condition was poor, but what’s this?
Didn’t they return to their usual selves as soon as she spoke to them?
The crisp tone spoken in the unique speech of a Great Noble seemed to assert their superior position.
The Archmage’s strict gaze seemed to put the other party to the test.
It was certain.
These were the two people Belota had been dealing with for the past few days.
Demanding figures who constantly thought and doubted until they reached understanding.
That’s when it happened.
“Everyone. What should we do about this? It seems that, well, the Faceless One’s Remains—my child seems to have digested it.”
The Spirit Master, Lisir, spoke to them with a troubled expression.
The young spirit girl was standing beside him with her arms crossed.
“!!!”
Her expression, with her eyes wide, was as majestic as if she was saying, ‘Go ahead and scold me if you want’.
“Hey, it’s okay. Don’t worry about it. Anyway, that’s the item you obtained by capturing the Face Thief, right? Besides, that existence itself was affecting the surroundings negatively. Taking care of it is something that deserves praise. Who could blame you for this?”
“Dray is right. You simply did what you had to do. In fact, it was something only you could do.”
“Yes? Only I could do it?”
“Countless scholars racked their brains trying to deal with that item. But no real answer came out. No one could find a way to completely deal with it until your spirit swallowed it.”
“…Ah! Is that so? Oh my. That’s a relief. I was quite scared for a moment. We, Verbande… Siwoo! I thought she had caused a big problem.”
Belota, who had been silently listening to the conversation.
Her expression quickly depicted shock.
“Wa, wait a minute!”
She hastily interrupted the conversation and asked Lisir.
“Wh, what did you just say!?”
“Ah! Is that so!?”
“Besides that! Spirit, what did you call that spirit?”
“Verbande… Siwoo!?”
“Verbande…”
Belota’s eyes began to shake violently as she chewed on that name.
Followed by rapid, shallow breaths.
Huff.
Huff.
She was at a loss for a moment, then forcefully grabbed Dray and Pallag’s hands and pulled them away from Lisir.
It was a disrespect that would never be allowed for a Great Noble and an Archmage, but Belota didn’t have time to worry about it now.
“Both of you. Don’t be surprised, listen calmly.”
Belota said so, even though she was far from calm.
Because she believed that after hearing her story, they would be even more surprised than herself.
“The young spirit girl that Lisir is with. That might be—Verbandes.”
“Verbandes?”
“The sand mountain that obscures the sun. The eternal night of the desert. It is a demon of a caliber far surpassing the Faceless One.”
“Are you sure?”
Pallag asked with a serious face.
“Otherwise, what could accept such a tremendous item and remain unharmed?”
Belota answered hastily.
A demon of the highest caliber infiltrated human society disguised as a spirit.
It was a serious matter that could not be compared to anything else.
In a state of extreme tension, she waited for their answer.
“As I thought.”
That was Pallag’s answer.
“Indeed, I thought it wouldn’t be an ordinary spirit.”
That was Dray’s answer.
And—
“…?”
That was the end.
“Everyone…?”
Belota, whose common sense had been completely denied, now asked them with fear.
They don’t realize the seriousness of the situation even after I’ve explained this much?
“Ah!”
Then, Dray said to Belota, as if he had just remembered something.
“Belota, you said just now, didn’t you? The sand mountain that obscures the sun. The eternal night of the desert. Perhaps, is it related to the sandstorm?”
Finally!
Belota nodded vigorously.
“Yes!”
Snap!
Dray snapped his fingers cheerfully.
“Sir Pallag, do you remember? Lisir’s mental image that we saw before—”
“Ah, yes. The mystery is finally solved. I wondered why that young spirit created such a terrifying mental image, but it was like this.”
“…?”
Finally, it wasn’t?
What are they suddenly talking about?
Belota’s gaze darted between the two.
“Belota.”
At that moment, Dray asked Belota again.
“Yes…?”
Feeling a bad premonition, she answered.
“Perhaps, among the things you know, is there a spirit—no, a demon related to this?”
A pillar of black fire that reaches the sky.
An endless pool of blood.
These were the two things mentioned by Dray.
“…”
Understanding the intention behind the question, Belota’s legs gave way, and she collapsed to the ground.
‘No…’
It’s too early to jump to conclusions.
Believing it to be her misconception, she asked them.
“Where did you see those…?”
“Lisir’s mental world?”
“?”
✦✦✦
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