Chapter 15

After a brief rest, Flamm and Sera, having recovered enough strength to walk, proceeded deeper into the facility to search for an exit. The corridor was a mess of rubble. In some places, the ceiling had fallen, blocking the way, but fortunately, they could bypass these areas and continue forward. The enemies were gone, and the traps made of human corpses, having lost their power, were now just mutilated bodies lying on the ground.

"Who would have thought the effects would reach this far?"

With Flamm's help, Sera climbed over the remnants of a wall. Flamm pulled her up and caught her as she nearly fell.

"If we had run, we might be dead by now."

"Not 'might,' but definitely. Seriously, who in the world created such a troublesome monster?"

After defeating the Ogar, Flamm discovered a broken black crystal among the fragments of flesh. It was now in the bag she carried on her shoulder. She had dropped it during the battle but was relieved to have recovered it. Unfortunately, the lunch Milkit had prepared was now a mess.

"Well, even if we want to find the culprit, we have to get outside first."

"It feels like a lot of time has passed."

"I hope it's not dark yet..."

They had gained enough composure to think about the outside world. They passed the point where the Ogar's interference had forced them to turn back and reached an unexplored area. Beyond that, they found a room with several large cylindrical glass cases, a library with empty bookshelves, and a rest room with sofas and beds. They couldn't find an exit easily, and their spirits began to sink. Their already exhausted bodies felt even heavier.

But it was almost there.

"Could that be the exit?"

At the very end—no, it was probably the entrance—a door with a different atmosphere from the others appeared at the end of the corridor. Flamm and Sera looked at each other and smiled. Their eagerness to get out made them walk faster. They pushed open the heavy door, and beyond it was a staircase leading up to the ceiling. At the top was a hatch that could be lifted open with a key.

"Alright...!"

As Flamm put her strength into her arms, the orange sunlight streamed into the underground. Both of them couldn't help but smile. They lifted the hatch and stepped outside—into the overgrown square where they had first encountered the Ogar. It seemed the entrance to the facility was camouflaged by weeds. Although only a few hours had passed, it felt like they had breathed fresh air for the first time in days. Flamm stretched her arms toward the sky and extended her body. Sera followed suit, mimicking her.

"Finally, we can go home..."

But the feeling of relief was short-lived. When they saw the exit blocked by fallen rocks, their shoulders slumped.

"We have to clear that first."

They had forgotten that Dain's subordinates were also here.

"We have to get them back for this!"

To do that, they needed to move the massive rocks.

"Can't we do something with your knight swordsmanship?"

"I could try, but I'd probably collapse after one use. And I think Sera's mace would be better for breaking the rocks."

"I can't do it now; I'd collapse."

"Then we have to do it the hard way."

The task would be difficult, but at least they wouldn't be chased by monsters. They approached the collapsed area and reached out to the nearest rock. Flamm called out, "One, two, three!" and with a great effort, the rock lifted. It was far too large for two girls to carry, but they weren't just any girls. They carried it to a distance and dropped it with a thud. Flamm wiped the sweat from her forehead and moved on to the next rock. Sera followed, wrapping her arms around a rock as wide as her shoulders.

At that moment, Flamm's gaze shifted to the opposite direction—toward a dense forest of trees.

Splat, splat.

—Their eyes met.

No, it didn't have eyes, but it was definitely looking at Flamm. Blood spurted from the swirling flesh in excitement.

"No... way..."

Flamm, frozen in place, turned her head to the side. Sera tilted her head in confusion.

"Flamm, what's wrong...?"

Sera saw the same thing and froze in place.

"...What?"

The answer to her question came quickly. The broken glass cases they had seen in the facility. Not just one, but several. And the Ogar they had encountered underground moved differently from the ones on the surface. In other words, the one they had defeated was a different individual.

"I didn't know there were so many...!"

Backing away, they found themselves against a cold stone wall. A small hole was open, but it wasn't wide enough to be an escape route. Flamm bit her lip. If she had the strength, she might have been able to defeat it with her knight swordsmanship. But she didn't have the energy to use it repeatedly. If they could find a safe place to rest, maybe— but there was no such place against this monster. It was a losing situation.

"Sorry, Milkit..."

She intended to resist to the fullest. But it seemed unlikely that she would return to Milkit, who was waiting for her.

Flamm extended her arms, and particles of light gathered in her palms, gradually forming a large sword. She gripped the hilt with her sweaty palms and pointed the black blade at the Ogar. Sera, similarly, readied her mace on her back, waiting for the enemy to approach. The Ogar, in a good mood, spurted blood, wetting the ground, and approached them with a light step, as if looking forward to snack time. It approached with innocent, pure malice, stepping on the ground with a carefree gait. At a distance twice the reach of the Soul Eater, the Ogar stopped, looking down at its prey. It confirmed the prey's exhaustion, felt confident of victory, and raised its spiral fist with a good mood.

"I don't know how far we can go, but..."

"I'm going to win, Flamm!"

Even though they knew it was impossible, their determination was strong. The moment the enemy's fist shook the ground, it was the signal. The battle began—just as the signal was about to be given, a woman appeared from the bushes.

With blue skin and dark blue hair, and a revealing outfit, she caressed the air as if playing a harp and smiled, "Crimson Sphere."

A greenish-blue sphere, infused with a vast amount of wind magic, floated and flew toward the Ogar. Upon touching its green skin, it exploded, enveloping the 3-meter-tall body. Splat... Splat, Splat, Splat, Splat! The Ogar struggled to escape but was powerless against the overwhelming magic. The wind blades mercilessly tore its flesh apart, scattering blood. The sphere, true to its name, turned crimson with the Ogar's blood.

Flamm and Sera could only stand and watch the scene. The monster they had risked their lives to defeat was so easily defeated. Was this woman a hope or a greater despair?

The wind gradually weakened, and the remains of the Ogar stuck to the ground. A black crystal, swirling with something inside, fell to the center. The woman approached, used wind magic to blow off the blood, and gazed at it with a seductive look.

"Who would have thought humans would create something like this? Don't you think humans are a troublesome species, Flamm?"

"N... N... N..."

"What's wrong? Are you turning into a cat?"

She cheerfully clasped her hands in front of her chest like a cat. Flamm's mouth hung open in shock. Sera, facing the demon, showed even more hostility than she had toward the Ogar.

"Oh, you're... so cute, very cute. Are you a Sister of the Origin Church?"

"What's... what's cute about it! You monster, you murderer! It's disgusting, it makes my skin crawl!"

The woman showed a disheartened expression at the open hostility from a girl she had just met.

"Is this pattern happening again? How many times have I been glared at by that Maria girl?"

"Of course, Maria-sama and I! You demons took our homeland and killed our loved ones! I will never forget this hatred and anger!"

Sera, ready to attack, was held back by Flamm, who placed a hand on her shoulder.

"Calm down, Sera."

"How can I calm down! Demons, demons are absolutely—!"

"Please, at least scan her first. Okay?"

Sera, breathing heavily like a cat, seemed to regain her composure at Flamm's words. She activated her scan and looked at the woman.

--------------------

Negus

Attribute: Bloodwind

Strength: 3596

Magic: 15997

Health: 2479

Agility: 3698

Senses: 7854

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The moment she saw the numbers, her resolve crumbled. Her small hand dropped the mace with a thud. Negus gave Flamm a thumbs up and smiled, "Nice follow-up!" Flamm, who only had memories of Negus fighting the heroes on equal terms, was at a loss for words.

"Finally, we can talk calmly."

Sera, though not fully calmed down, seemed capable of a conversation.

"Let's start with introductions. My name is Negus, I control wind and darkness, I'm much older than any human, and I belong to the Three Demon Generals. As you can see, I'm a demon."

"..."

Silence from the two. Negus puffed out her cheeks at the lack of response.

"Bad reaction, I introduced myself, so Sera, you should... Oh, you're glaring at me. I guess it's hard to think of me as a parent's enemy, isn't it?"

"Why are you introducing yourself? If you have that much power, why don't you just kill us?"

"Because, we demons don't kill humans."

Negus said it as if it were a given. Sera's anger, which had momentarily subsided, flared up again at her insensitivity.

"Don't kid around! You've killed and taken from us!"

"Have you seen it with your own eyes?"

Her sharp question made Sera's momentum falter.

"That... isn't the case. But, but, the people who saved me at the church told me!"

"Then listen. Can you trust a church that does such suspicious research in such a remote place?"

Negus showed the black crystal from the Ogar's body.

"..."

Sera was speechless. Flamm, on the other hand, looked puzzled at Negus's words.

"Why is the church involved?"

"Oh, you didn't realize. I haven't seen the inside yet, but Sera seemed to have noticed. Right, Sera?"

Sera, looking down and biting her lip, began to speak.

"At first... I saw the twisted ring, the symbol of the Origin Church, on the door, and I had a bad feeling."

A subtle decoration that only someone familiar with it would notice. It could still be a coincidence, and Sera's suspicion was still just a suspicion. But it quickly turned into certainty.

"Then, when I read the researcher's notes... Revelation, circulating knowledge, and wisdom... The words in the researcher's notes were similar to those in the holy book... I realized this was an Origin Church facility... I didn't want to believe it, but..."

"The church was conducting human experiments here..."

The adventurers who went into the cave and never returned—perhaps they were not just killed but taken as test subjects.

"But even if that's true, why are demons here!?"

"The power they were researching is a bit inconvenient for us. I recently found out about this facility, so I came to investigate."

The power that the church was researching was inconvenient for the demons. There was nothing strange about that. Both the kingdom and the church recognized demons as evil and conducted various research to defeat them. Still, Flamm couldn't see the Ogar's "rotation" power as normal, and the church conducting human experiments left a bad impression.

"More importantly, why are you here, Flamm? You disappeared from the hero party, and that mark on your cheek looks like a slave's."

"That's..."

Flamm hesitated. Sera, looking at her, said curiously,

"Flamm, you were really the hero Flamm Apricot, weren't you?"

The "really" suggested she had been suspected.

"That's... I guess. I was kicked out because I didn't have the power of a hero, sold as a slave, and now I'm in this situation."

"That's terrible!"

"What a terrible story..."

They both spoke at the same time. Sera looked conflicted, and Negus smiled.

"So, why are you here?"

"Ha... I came to collect herbs on a request."

Sera sighed and answered.

"Isn't collecting herbs forbidden by the church?"

"But there are people suffering from illness. I think medicine is necessary to help them."

Negus, hearing this, placed her hand on her chest and excitedly said to Flamm,

"Flamm, isn't this girl amazing...!?"

"Um, she's a good person, but..."

Flamm, still not used to Negus's overly familiar attitude, was gradually beginning to believe that she really didn't kill people. There was no sense of deceit in her smile. She was being completely honest. Sera, too, seemed to open up a little.

"Right, right, I came to collect herbs and got attacked by a monster. While running, I ended up in the facility. And when I was cornered by the monster! You appeared."

"One of them was defeated by Flamm, though."

"You defeated that thing!? I'm surprised. You seemed like just a country girl who couldn't fight when you were with the hero. How did you do it?"

"How do you expect me to explain...?"

The memory was vague. She had screamed and used all her strength—

"When I put all my energy into it, the crystal inside broke, and it stopped moving."

"...The core, it broke? Wait, do you still have the broken core!?"

Negus, looking very surprised, approached Flamm.

"Yes, I brought it just in case."

Flamm took it out and handed it to Negus. She examined the broken crystal with a serious expression she had never shown before.

"It's completely non-functional. What does this mean? No... I see, that's why it—"

"What's wrong?"

"...No, it's nothing. Flamm, can I keep this broken core?"

It should be taken to the proper place for investigation, but now that they knew it was a church facility, giving it to a place connected to the kingdom would likely result in its destruction. Ironically, the most trustworthy person now was a demon.

"You can have it. I don't need it."

"Thank you, I appreciate it. By the way, you haven't collected the herbs yet, right?"

"I was planning to clear the blocked exit first."

Negus then raised her hand and cast a spell at the rocks blocking the hole.

"Erosion."

Black wind gathered from nowhere, enveloping the target. The rocks deteriorated and crumbled on their own. The exit was quickly cleared.

"If any monsters come near, I'll take care of them. You should find the herbs quickly."

"But... I don't trust you."

"I understand, but our interests