Chapter 56

Halumenta (6)

For a moment, the view ahead turned red. It was due to the gushing blood that drenched everything.

The small, thin drops of blood completely covered the approaching monsters.

And the collapse was instantaneous.

The ranks of the charging monsters crumbled. They stumbled, tangled, fell, and rolled roughly on the ground, sliding away. A thick cloud of dust spread.

Silence descended. It had been just a few dozen seconds.

"......"

Ashell's eyes widened in shock.

There were no more monsters moving alive. Only a hill of overlapping corpses remained.

It didn't take long to understand what had happened.

The scene before her eyes was an enigma that couldn't be comprehended no matter how much time was given.

'What is this...?'

What kind of power is this?

I thought I had seen quite a bit of the abilities of the Seven Lords up close. But it seems that was a presumptuous delusion.

Ashell turned her gaze and stared blankly at the Seven Lord.

He had withdrawn his hand and was looking at the other side with a cold eye.

Beyond the corpses, a giant monster was moving frantically, its tentacles writhing. It seemed to be trying to escape.

The Seven Lord's expression of disdain disappeared.

She snapped out of it and turned her head again. He was already far away in the air.

***

Complete annihilation.

It was a foregone conclusion from the moment they had come in such a reckless horde, so there was no particular emotion.

"......"

But Ashell and the other two were completely stunned.

It was natural that they couldn't understand the massacre scene in front of them, given that they had no knowledge of my abilities.

'......But look at that weakling.'

I looked at the leader monster, frantically trying to escape with its tentacles writhing. As soon as his subordinates died, he ran?

I closed the distance with him in an instant, using spatial leaps in quick succession.

Grrr!

The monster, in a panic, formed another magic sphere from its tentacles. This time, it didn't shoot it like a beam but threw it whole.

I cast a stationary barrier in mid-air.

The sphere exploded upon impact with the barrier. It was a formidable force, but it was nowhere near breaking through the barrier's defense.

As soon as the flash of light faded, I immediately cast a blood spell, forming it into a long, thorn-like shape.

Although still at a distance, I was close enough to hit with the blood.

The blood shot through the air and struck the monster's massive body.

Boom!

With a loud noise, I confirmed the monster's fall and landed lightly on the ground.

The area was a field of monster corpses.

I looked around at them for a moment and then smacked my lips.

I felt a renewed sense of regret that I couldn't gain any experience points from slaughtering such a large monster army.

How many monsters had I killed since falling into this world? If leveling up were possible, how many levels would I have reached by now?

I used spatial leaps again to approach the fallen leader and examined it.

Why wasn't this monster, who was so powerful, a named boss in Halumenta a few years later?

There were many possible reasons. It could have been killed by a stronger monster or by a superhuman from outside.

Especially since Gloriana often went hunting in the Demon Realm, it was possible that she had killed it.

Soon, Ashell ran over to where I was.

The other two were already nearby.

They were examining something among the monster corpses. It turned out to be the corpse of a giant toad monster.

'......Oh.'

Wait, could it be?

I approached them and looked at the monster's corpse together.

Devil Toad. The monster the two were looking for to avenge themselves.

It seemed this one was also under control and had been mixed in with the monster horde. Things turned out this way again.

"......This is the one. It's dead."

Chersy muttered.

Kellip didn't respond, but his eyes remained fixed on the corpse. His gaze was complex, tinged with a sense of futility.

Standing there a bit awkwardly, he eventually turned to me and said,

"It's a shame I couldn't kill it with my own hands......but thank you."

I nodded.

Chersy also looked at the Devil Toad's corpse with a mix of satisfaction and disappointment.

Although it might feel a bit hollow, this would be a clean way for them to leave the Demon Realm.

Squish.

Kellip, who had been examining the corpse, cut off a bit of the monster's toe and put it in a leather pouch at his waist.

I wondered why he was taking that, but I didn't ask. Maybe he wanted to take it to his brother's grave.

In any case, that was the end of it.

Our business here was already done, but Ashell's disappearance delayed us.

This time, there were many things that happened. We didn't get the mystery we were after.

***

Chersy and Kellip had achieved their goals, so there was no reason for them to stay in the Demon Realm any longer.

Since we were heading in the same direction, we continued to travel together until we left. We parted ways after exiting Helumenta.

"Goodbye, Sir Ron! And Sir Ashell! Thank you so much!"

Chersy waved energetically, and Kellip bowed his head in a final, brief thanks.

Ashell and I were back to being just the two of us.

We had to walk this time because we lost our horses, but it wasn't a big deal thanks to the abundant stamina from regeneration.

After a long journey, we returned to the city where Baros was waiting, the place where we had first set out.

Neigh!

In the moving carriage, I watched the scenery outside the window as usual.

This marks the end of the mystery-seeking journey. It was time to return to the Seven Lord's territory.

Except for one, I had obtained everything I planned to, so it was a satisfying result.

'But the last mystery......it's still a shame.'

I thought about the last mystery I couldn't obtain in Halumenta.

A mystery that allowed one to abandon their own body and take over another's, provided the conditions were met.

In short, a possession ability.

However, there was a penalty: you could only use it once, and you could never return to your original body.

The reason I wanted this seemingly useless mystery was one.

There was a villain in the future who would cause a massive disaster.

I had completed all of Lasa's main story.

Naturally, I knew about the existence of the major villains who would cause significant problems during that process.

However, unlike the other villains, 'he' was annoyingly the one who had changed his damaged body using the possession ability.

Therefore, I knew nothing about what kind of body he had before or what he was doing where.

So, I had planned to preemptively secure the mystery to prevent the problem at its source......

'But there's nothing I can do.'

I shook off any lingering thoughts. What could I do about something that had already happened?

I could only continue to do my best within my capabilities.

***

The carriage traveled through the First Lord's territory, the Third Lord's territory, and finally arrived at the Sixth Lord's territory.

We could have gone directly from the First Lord's territory through the Grand Lord's territory to the Seventh Lord's territory, but I wanted to check on Balquirof, so I deliberately went through the Third Lord's territory.

"Phew......"

Currently, we were in Mahia, the capital of the Sixth Lord's territory.

I stood by the window of the inn room, staring blankly at the sky.

There were a few months left until the next Lord's meeting. I was pondering what to do first after returning to the Lord's castle.

It would have been nice to have time to go to Sainthea, but it was too tight, and there was nothing specific to do until the next meeting.

Then, a commotion broke out in the street.

I looked down.

A man had grabbed a young boy by the collar and was yelling at him.

From what I could hear, it seemed he had caught the boy trying to pickpocket him. The passersby glanced at them.

"Hey, what's going on?"

Two armed soldiers approached them.

The man who had grabbed the boy's collar explained the situation with a slightly cowed look.

The soldiers then grinned nastily and looked at the boy.

"Oh, a pickpocket, huh? Step aside. Do you think you can handle such a filthy scum with just words?"

They pushed the man aside and suddenly swung their spear butts, striking the boy's head. He screamed and fell.

The soldiers didn't stop there. They began to beat the fallen boy mercilessly.

"Ah, aah......!"

The boy's arm made a sickening crack under the soldier's kick. He screamed even louder.

The man who had been pickpocketed also watched, fidgeting, at the excessive brutality.

The passersby just whispered and avoided the soldiers, continuing on their way.

I watched the scene and clicked my tongue.

When the water at the top is corrupt, the water at the bottom also becomes corrupt.

The security in the Sixth Lord's territory, ruled by a tyrant, was generally like this.

They would rob travelers like thugs in back alleys or use punishment as an excuse to enjoy violence. It was the same when I played the game.

After a few minutes of thoroughly beating the boy, the soldiers finally left.

"Ugh, ugh......"

The boy, covered in dirt and blood, writhed on the ground. Of course, no one helped him.

As I was considering whether to help him or not, an old man approached the boy.

A short, stout old man with a full orange beard.

He examined the boy's condition, clicked his tongue, and then took something from his pocket and began to apply it to the boy's broken arm. It was a potion.

The old man treated the boy and then continued on his way.

The boy, who had gotten up, looked dazed and repeatedly bowed to the old man's back.

"......"

I watched the entire scene with a slightly interested look.

Potions, even low-quality ones, were precious in this world. The old man, who could readily give a potion to someone else, was a rare saint.

The old man soon disappeared into an alley.

I stared at the spot where he had disappeared and then gave up on sightseeing, lying down on the bed.

As I stared blankly at the ceiling, something flashed in my mind.

I opened my eyes wide and sprang up.

'Wait a minute......'

Could that old man be...?

His distinctive appearance made me immediately recognize him. I let out a small exclamation.

'Why is he in this city?'

At this point in time, he was in the capital of the Sixth Lord's territory?

It was an unexpected discovery of a major figure.

After a moment of hesitation, I quickly put on the robe hanging in the corner of the room and went out of the inn, leaving Ashell behind.

I went out into the street and followed the alley where the old man had gone.

As I moved down the connected path, I soon saw the sign of a potion shop in the distance.

Thinking it might be the place, I was about to approach when a voice came from a side alley.

"Hey, you! Stop for a moment!"

I turned my head.

The two soldiers I had seen in the street earlier were approaching me, looking for trouble.