Chapter 39: The Shackles of Evil
Battle preparations were carried out in a complex yet simultaneous manner.
Shwik shwik shwik shwik-
Volga diligently sharpened his sword according to dwarf Basim's instructions, and the newcors clumsily followed suit, honing their blades to a sharp edge.
At the sa ti, soldiers drafted from the Viscount's household were pushed to the front of the group, and Commander Royce shared the Hares' response strategy with those around him.
"So to summarize, the top priority is eliminating the Anomalous Phenonon?"
"Yes, Gregor."
"What about the Viscount? The cook comrade said that fellow was suspicious, too."
"Of course, we must keep that in mind as well. However, according to Ella, she didn't sense any evil aura from Viscount Erchi. In other words, he's not the type that infects humans. There must be so other reason."
The veteran rcenary showed his displeasure at this.
"Hmm, if it's not an infection type... So it's a monster, but not to the extent that the Order would intervene?"
"That's right."
"What a damn annoying situation. Evil creatures have pushed all the way to the west, but those who claim to believe in God are nitpicking about monster classifications!"
"Still, it's not the worst situation. Since they know we have a 3rd rank Cleric on our side, they won't dare stab us in the back carelessly."
"The Commander is right about that. The knights and soldiers would hesitate to follow orders. Even so, we mustn't let our guard down."
"You speak truly."
Calix engraved this series of conversations in his mind. Even if he could read ahead, he needed skilled experience to deal with what ca after - tis like this were when he had to learn from the rcenaries' seasoned wisdom.
This was especially true for parts he didn't yet understand.
"No wonder the troop deploynt at the main castle seed strange. It looked like it was for controlling rather than protecting! I could tell at a glance!"
"...Don't say ridiculous things and just calculate. If the residents were mobilized, how many would that be?"
"There are about 40 households in the village near the main castle, so the population would be roughly 150 to 200. It would decrease as you go toward the outskirts."
"Hmm, that area would have at most 20 households or so. Then the number of soldiers that could be mobilized would be..."
"Soone calculate it!"
"Under normal conditions, between 200 and 500?"
"...That's not few."
"I said under normal conditions. Besides, this isn't the north. Most of them are untrained farrs. Even among them, less than one-tenth would use neural accelerators. No matter how incompetent the royal family is, would they give neural accelerators to people stuck in the southwestern corner?"
As information derived from experience accumulated, the fear of Viscount Erchi also gradually diminished. Even assuming a maximum of 500, only 50 of them would be soldiers with neural accelerators. Excluding knights, they wouldn't be difficult to handle.
If they hadn't received neural accelerator implants, humans would be no different from a woolly sheep.
However, one cannot learn what they've never experienced. Calix realized this when he arrived at the southernmost village of Erianka, where the first incident had occurred.
***
Whiiiiii-
The village outskirts were very peaceful. Unlike before, there were signs of so people, but their gazes weren't filled with fear.
Below the rocky mountain, golden grain had ripened in the fields, but the farrs' hands moved sluggishly. They moved slowly as if trying to drag out ti, with no sounds of conversation whatsoever.
Thwack!
Even when a scrawny child stole a handful of grain and ran away, the adults made no attempt to stop him.
What made goosebumps rise on his arms was knowing this atmosphere was abnormal. The residents showed only powerless appearances as if the monsters' presence and the rcenaries' arrival ant nothing at all.
As if they had given up on everything, they continued cutting grain with empty eyes.
And Calix had seen similar sights before. The divers at the magic stone mines. Those who dared not even dream of hope had been like this.
"...Damn, what is this?"
"Over a hundred ard troops, yet they don't even look. They're not afraid either."
"Hey! Co out for a mont! No... Let us ask you sothing!"
When the veteran rcenaries called out, but no one answered, the newcors like Romance and Wheatley, approached to grab the nearby children.
Or rather, tried to grab them.
Thunk.
'One for Olgen, one for Erdan too.'
'Erdan has two left! Mom and dad!'
'But Erdan isn't here.'
'Right.'
In one corner of the village, two children were collecting stones and counting numbers. They had drawn a map on the dirt ground and were calculating 'who else had disappeared'.
However, no one said anything about anyone dying or disappearing.
"...Ella."
"Yes, it's full of evil power. We need to purify it first."
"Hmm, you all need to earn your keep, too, don't you?"
"U-us...?"
"Just go find out how many survivors there are. By the way, this isn't a request."
"..."
"Move now!"
Royce stepped forward to request sacred prayers, and Vice-Captain Marik pushed the terrified soldiers into the village.
Calix also watched this before moving his steps toward the direction close to the rocky mountain.
"Huh? What are you trying to do?"
Volga followed behind him with a patter patter-, his bright eyes gleaming despite his large fra, but Calix had no leisure to answer him.
Sothing strange was visible throughout Calix's field of vision.
Drip-
An unfamiliar substance. Similar to the colors emitted by magic stones, yet different. It was black and red, sticky as if it had viscosity.
Feeling instinctive displeasure, Calix realized this was what Ella had called 'evil aura'.
'It didn't spread randomly. Traces remained as if food had splattered, centered around residential areas.'
The difference from the village they had visited before was that there were no exceptions anywhere. Literally, missing persons had erged from every house.
The children's testimony matched this.
"Seven."
"Seven? Only seven people in the entire village?"
"Yes. Everyone's here. This is Ken, I'm Bota, the one working over there is Olgen's dad and Erdan's parents. Oh, that's six. One more disappeared yesterday."
"...But that still leaves one?"
"Grandpa Jacob doesn't co out of his house."
"I see. But why... Didn't you run away before it got to this point?"
"..."
Calix went to find the answer to the last question.
In the village outskirts, at a point close to the rocky mountain, there was one house that was uniquely uncontaminated.
The fence was broken and there were holes throughout the walls, making wind sounds, but smoke was puffing up from the fireplace chimney - puff puff.
Soone was there.
"Is anyone there?"
"...Who is it?"
"My na is Calix."
Crash!
Old man Jacob threw the pottery in his hands to the floor.
Was he displeased by the uninvited guest's appearance?
"You wouldn't have co to buy pottery in this situation, and from your appearance, you're an ignorant rcenary. Leave quickly. Those who ca last ti already crossed to the underworld long ago."
If so, that was actually better.
Soone who could express surliness was better than those whose emotions had been removed.
"I ca from the Order."
"The Order? You?"
"There's a cleric dispatched from the Kriya Order in my party. If it's alright, I'd like to hear your story."
Calix inserted a well-intentioned lie.
The closer to the rocky mountain, the thicker the evil aura beca, yet the old man before him had survived well. Therefore, whether by chance or necessity, he must have witnessed the entire process.
He needed to know that process.
Fortunately, old man Jacob remained silent for a while before opening his mouth.
"I don't know if it will help... If you have questions, ask away."
"Do you live alone?"
"That's right. I'm alone but my breath hasn't been cut off yet. Don't misunderstand. I didn't survive in a cowardly manner."
The word 'Order' exerted powerful influence even on the old man who had no attachnt to life. Though he had a very pessimistic attitude, he freely spilled out the past events.
When the sun disappeared beyond the mountain peaks, demons ca down to devour people.
And soon, various hints erged.
"When about one-third of the village people had disappeared, everyone tried to run away. Especially the young ones. But do you know? Sotis people are scarier than monsters."
"What happened?"
"People living in the surrounding villages threatened them not to run away. Said God's punishnt would transfer to them. They beat up the first ones who tried to escape and sent them back, then after that the nobles directly stepped forward to block the roads."
"..."
"As you can see, this is the southwestern edge, isn't it? The sea blocks the way below, and rocky mountain ranges stand tall to the west, so the escape routes were predetermined. So what choice was there? They could only rot away while alive, waiting for the day to die."
According to his explanation, to escape by boat across the sea, they'd have to go through fishing villages, and north or east needed no further explanation.
"Anyway, that's how it beca. I don't know if it was fortunate or unfortunate, but living alone, I had no one to give up. When I built a big fire out of fear, it just passed by."
"The monster?"
"That's right. At that ti, it was surely a monster. Sothing that shouldn't be seen was flickering about. If it hadn't been for the fierce flas, I too would have t with misfortune. And that, that..."
When the other party beca too distressed, Calix twisted the flow of the story instead of urging for an answer. He pointed out a point where he felt a discrepancy.
"When you say 'at that ti'... There were tis when it wasn't a monster?"
"..."
"Jacob, please tell
as it is."
"He, that person..."
"...Viscount Erchi, isn't it?"
"..."
"You don't need to answer directly. Just nod if you would. Is my guess correct?"
Nod.
Finally, he had caught the tail.
***
The evil aura was washed away by Ella's divine power, and they had discovered that the Anomalous Phenonon originated from deep within the rocky mountain. It would be proper to imdiately set out and eliminate the cause, but the rcenaries caught their breath for a mont at the village entrance.
This was because when Calix interrogated the soldiers from the main castle based on the information he had gathered, the full details of the incident were revealed.
"Let's organize this step by step. So... Viscount Erchi is suffering from a mad affliction?"
"Y-yes. Rumors spread that he disappeared every night and returned soaked in blood each ti."
"But you hid it."
"That... We had no choice! Who could we ask for help? All the knights were dead or had disappeared without a trace-"
"These bastards... You call that an excuse? How do you know if it's a mad affliction or if he sold his soul to a demon! If the Order finds out, all of Erianka could be swept away! You irresponsible bastards..."
"Marik, calm down."
The Vice-Captain's anger was understandable. According to Royce, he had lost his family to monsters that had poured in from the east.
However, the veteran rcenaries also wore equally uncomfortable expressions. Especially dwarf Basim shuddered as if disgusted.
"So the lord was hunting humans? With the Anomalous Phenonon happening at just the right ti, it beca a good excuse."
"That's right. They probably reported to the royal family that missing persons occurred due to the Anomalous Phenonon."
"anwhile, those living in surrounding villages threw the weak humans as prey first to survive themselves? They just stood by and watched? No, how did rumors not spread?"
"After the knights died, the Viscount has been running around alone. Even if there were witnesses, it was as good as having none."
"Running around alone slaughtering humans? Obviously, the dead knights were also his doing. Hah, truly an incarnation of evil. Even those from the Shadow Lands would be impressed and seek his teachings."
"..."
Even Zahira, who always scolded Basim, kept her mouth shut this ti. Though they couldn't know the exact number of missing persons, they understood the scale.
Combining the Viscount's main castle and all of Erianka, at least a hundred or more households must have t with misfortune. In terms of headcount, 300 to 400 people had died.
And that was a shackle of evil completed by the consensus of many.
Though they had lived by the sword for a long ti, this was their first experience with such a thing. It wasn't worth getting angry over, but it was enough to feel unpleasant emotions.
Commander Royce stepped forward to organize the chaotic atmosphere.
"Nothing changes. Our top priority goal is eliminating the Anomalous Phenonon. Calix, you said the monster avoided bright lights? And the witness said its form flickered."
"Yes."
"Ella."
"Then it's likely a Draug. A spirit born from graves and imbued with evil power."
"Is it possible? Since it would be difficult to go with the Viscount's soldiers, we need to think only of our strength."
"The strength would vary depending on the number of victims, but generally it requires two 2nd rank clerics and three knights capable of striking spirits."
"Spirit striking would an wielding 'Wind's Scar.' Should we base this on Interdiate Knights?"
"That's right. However, this is a condition assuming a stable subjugation environnt. And since you wield the higher-level Falling Fire, Commander, we must consider that as well."
"Then it's worth trying."
He didn't think complicatedly and only looked at the target before him.
On the other hand, Ella's complexion didn't look very good.
"...But Commander, are you going to leave Viscount Erchi as he is?"
"If he doesn't touch us first, yes. From the Viscount's position, he can't recklessly interfere either. Since there's a cleric included in the party. He'll try to avoid making enemies with the Order."
"I see..."
"Hmm, does it bother you? However, killing a noble requires an unimaginable price. Calix too, would have been in big trouble if it hadn't been for Marquis Hoover before. Above all, though he massacred the territory's people, wasn't it confird that he wasn't tainted by evil?"
"...I see."
"Leave the noble's punishnt to nobles. We need to eliminate the Anomalous Phenonon and get out."
"Yes, I understand."
And shortly after, Mountain Rabbit completed their final inspection and entered the rocky mountain entrance. Their destination was a cave located on the mountainside.
Swooosh-
While advancing between the coniferous trees, Calix felt bewildered by the unstoppable flow of mana.
Every ti evil aura crumbled under Ella's divine magic, or whenever fragnts of divine power popped out, the sphere settled in his heart and absorbed them.
"..."
"..."
With their eyes eting several tis, he thought it would be nice if it would stop eating so much... But he couldn't control it.
***
When Mountain Rabbit had entered deep into the rocky mountain, the sound of horse hooves echoed from far away.
Clop clop, clop clop, clop clop!
A single horse galloped across the fields. The sun had already crossed the mountain peaks and a thin sunset spread out, but the horse's eyes were redder than the natural scenery.
"Hehe, we must hurry more. Contra, you too need to eat blood, don't you? You share the sa heart as , right?"
Viscount Erchi spoke to his beloved horse, then imdiately put his hand into his front pocket. A glass bottle containing liquid.
A physical enhancent agent.
"...Three left."
Pook-
The Viscount manipulated the glass bottle with one hand and inserted it into his skin. The liquid with a sowhat eerie color instantly penetrated his blood vessels, quickly transforming into mana and creating a massive flow of power.
[Luminus Guardian, operating incompletely]
[Astria Royal Permit Number N03-01382]
[Warning, fatal error detected]
[Unauthorized substance infiltration into body detected]
[Mana rampage in progress]
[Control of this device impossible...]
[Caution... ntal contamination... '89%'...'91%'... '94%'...]
[Neural network... Damage... Severe]
"Huuuu..."
Creak creak creak.
Already the second injection today.
Even as drool flowed from the corners of his mouth, at so point his molars clenched tight and blood seeped out. He had chewed through living flesh. Whether knowing this or not, Viscount Erchi trembled all over his body while savoring the pleasure.
"Ha-half Interdiate Knight, they say? ? Not anymore. Really not. If I could just get a neural accelerator one grade higher, I'd beco more perfect..."
Pwaaak!
Full na: Raul Erchi de Valtram.
The one called Viscount Erchi revealed his inferiority complex without reserve, then completely let go of his remaining reason the mont the blood vessels in his eyes burst.
From now on, it was purely instinct's domain.
Kehehehe.
The beast, consud by murderous urges, shed bloody tears while gazing at the lights on the mountainside. Though unintended, the torches raised by the Mountain Rabbits caught his eye particularly.
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