Chapter 111: Curse Plague (14)
Perhaps the answer was there from the beginning, and I didnt realize it.
Why are the members treated as having a unique characteristic due to their innate bodies?
If they were just ordinary humans born with a different appearance, Wondersteins bio-manipulation abilities should have worked on them.
However, the system viewed their heterogeneous bodies as a characteristic.
The meaning behind this was clear.
The fact that the members were born as monsters was due to Debulroots.
Therefore, their physical features were treated as a characteristic.
Debulroots from their parents bodies passed on to them during their fetal stages.
They were in a state where genes were already combined with Debulroots from the beginning of the formation of their bodies.
Thats why even with the power of a bio-mancer, their bodies could not be altered.
All of this raised one more question for me.
Why did Wonderstein gather them?
They are just different in appearance! Their appearance and the current situation have no correlation! Above all, thanks to Mr. Wonderstein, havent they all been cured?
Valentina stood in front of the people, defending me.
However, the seed of doubt had already taken root in the hearts of the people.
But look, it fits perfectly. Cursed monsters come near our village, and such incidents happen.
Yes! There must be a reason for the tradition of driving away such cursed beings from the village!
I doubt if that mage really cured us! Could it be that he wanted to turn us into monsters and raise us in the circus?
As people threw around baseless speculations, Ivanenko seemed to find it difficult to listen any longer and burst out.
Nonsense! Dont talk nonsense! Are the people running wild now not those who havent been cured of the plague? Those who have been treated by the magician have no problems, right?
Oh, dear knight! How can you say such naive words?
Those who are infected should be considered as intending to turn them into monsters and throw them away as prey after curing them!
What nonsense is this!
Just when Ivanenko was about to raise his voice even higher.
A roar started from outside.
Queek! Prey, prey!
Ah, inside There, it is! Eat it!
Keeek! Aliveeating!
Voices that sounded like human voices but were absolutely not human gradually approached this place.
The uproar that was pouring towards me suddenly stopped.
People closed their mouths and looked at each other.
It became so quiet that you could even hear the sound of someone swallowing saliva.
The voices became louder and eventually reached the entrance of the cathedral.
And the creatures rushed in without any hesitation.
Thump, thump, thump.
They began to pound on the cathedral door.
Preyeat!
Eating!
People made futile attempts to resist the incoming infection, but the soldiers were no exception.
Thanks to that, only I, Valentina, Ivanenko, and three others were left in front of the entrance.
In that situation, a message popped up in front of me.
[Sub Quest Plague Treatment has failed. As a penalty, 200 Debulroots will be deducted.]
The status window has been restored.
I have completed the subjugation of all the Debulroots I absorbed.
I let out a sigh inside.
The quest goal was to treat 200 people.
I have treated approximately 100 patients so far.
At this point, the only reason for the failure message that came up was that there were less than 100 residents left to treat.
I glanced briefly inside the cathedral.
The terrified residents were looking at me.
A smile appeared on my face, and one message floated in my mind.
[You have completed the enslavement of all the Debulroots you absorbed.]
I sighed inwardly.
The fact that the treated residents have fallen below 100 is the only reason for the failure message that came up at this point.
The residents inside the cathedral were looking at me with fear.
Wonderstein did nothing wrong.
Valentina gently embraced my shoulder and whispered.
As a magician, I dont suspect people. You are a good person.
A corner of my heart stung at her words.
She knew who she was saying such things to, right?
I was the man she was chasing.
I became more supportive after knowing that you will challenge the circus grand prix with the members.
I smiled a bitter smile at Valentinas words.
I knew better than anyone what it meant to be born as a disabled person.
Members.
Their fate was twisted by the curse plague from the moment they were born.
Members of the circus.
Their fate was twisted by the curse plague from the moment they were born.
Did Wonderstein pity them and help them?
How relieved would my heart be if that was true.
The appearance of the members from TT1 came to mind.
They were in a monstrous state due to resentment and anger towards the world.
Curse Plague, Debulroots, Subjugation, Monster members.
Considering all of this, a horrifying conjecture was possible.
Wonderstein deliberately spread the Curse Plague, cultivated Debulroots using humans as nutrients, and gathered monster members produced as a by-product of the plague, using their anger towards the world as tools for his own purposes.
Wonderstein was the mastermind behind their unhappy past, the Grim Reaper leading them towards an unhappy future.
And that devil was now me.
I was engulfed in the urge to reject the comforting hand of the saint.
I wanted to shout that the man comforting you is not a good person at all.
Thud, thud, thud.
The knocking on the door grew louder, but the door didnt budge.
The door was made of thick wood, with dozens of steel bolts firmly rooted in the stone wall.
Kievan Church also served as a fortress in times of crisis.
Even trained soldiers, numbering a dozen or more, would have a hard time shaking it with a battering ram, let alone opening it by recklessly striking it with human flesh.
Was that why?
They changed their strategy.
Please open the door!
We are not monsters!
Suddenly, the knocking sound diminished, and the voices of children could be heard.
The voices were those of children not even 10 years old.
Did they create an illusion?
Valentina and Ivanenko were momentarily surprised but did not waver.
One was a specialist in dealing with demons, and the other was a knight with extensive combat experience.
They were not people who would be shaken by such shallow tricks.
But the residents were not.
They began to murmur at the childrens voices.
Are the kids knocking on the door right now?
But earlier, Im sure we heard the voices of monsters?
Could it be that we imagined it out of fear?
In the midst of them, a middle-aged woman stepped forward.
Oh my, thats the voice of our son! Move aside! Mom is coming!
In response, the children outside cried out loudly.
Mom! Mom!
Open the door!
Dad! Dad!
Open the door before the monsters catch up!
I felt the urge to step forward to stop the woman.
However, Ivanenko acted before me.
Thud.
He struck the back of the woman trying to unlock the side door with the hilt of his sword.
The middle-aged woman made a groaning sound and collapsed forward.
Ivanenko, with an indifferent expression, confirmed that she had fainted and turned to the residents.
Is there still someone foolish enough to believe that those are real children?
With his chilling words, the residents lowered their heads in embarrassment.
It seemed that even this strategy did not work on the fanatics, as they quickly devised the next plan.
They, theyre gathering together!
A soldier on the bell tower, watching the horizon, shouted.
What does that mean? Gathering together?
Ivanenko demanded a detailed explanation, but I understood the moment I heard it.
It was a technique shown by the fanatics in the game.
They could merge their bodies to undergo a more powerful transformation.
If hundreds of fanatics merged, their strength would undoubtedly be tremendous.
Get away from the door!
At my shout, Ivanenko reflexively moved aside.
At the same time, the main entrance of the cathedral was broken, and something flew in.
Crash!
The impact shook the cathedral as if the stone walls were trembling.
Waaah!
What, what is it?
Wooden fragments fell into the sanctuary.
I looked at what had penetrated through the door amidst the cloud of dust.
It was a pillar formed by twisting and intertwining muscular red strands like intestines.
In the midst of a dense forest, there was a tree with a thickness similar to that of an elm, and at its tip, there was a blade of ivory color larger than a person.
It was one of the special abilities of the fanatics, the fake Mantulas Knife.
It was implemented in an extra-large size.
Creak. Thud.
The churchs doors were torn apart, and a gigantic creature entered, its form larger than that of an elephant.
Whoa! What is that?
A, a monster!
The residents retreated in confusion inside the cathedral.
It was a creature with a size several times larger than an elephant.
However, calling it a creature invoked a sense of rejection against conventional knowledge.
The being resembled a mass of hundreds of humans mashed together on its shoulders, legs, stomach, back, and everywhere else.
Upon seeing the living residents, the faces, hands, and feet attached to its body began to glow.
Kweeek!
Prey!
Kekekek!
The elite monster created by the fusion of fanatics.
The Fleshmass.
In the game, even with a fusion of a thousand, it felt like an ugly potato. However, looking at it in reality, it exuded a tremendous presence.
Judging by its size, it seemed to have at least 300 people fused together.
Everyone, move behind me!
Two beams of light, each exceeding 3 meters in length, shot up from Valentinas fists.
Despite her powerful presence, the light barrier protecting her body was very weak.
This was because she had consumed a considerable amount of divine power in treating the curse plague of over a hundred people.
At that moment, a ominous imagination flashed before my eyes.
The scene transitioning to the TT3 final stage.
A saint bleeding and dying was there.
It couldnt happen.
It couldnt be.
I couldnt let her be in danger because of my mistake.
I recalled the moment I faced the Fleshmass creature.
In the original work, drinking Wondersteins blood was a fanatics baptism.
And I had spilled my blood earlier.
It was infused with the Debulroots, which was in the process of being dominated.
I didnt know how it worked, but it was clear that it had caused this situation.
I touched Valentinas shoulder.
Please protect the people.
I pushed her aside and stepped forward.
All the pupils of the Fleshmass creature were focused on me.
The fake Mantulas blade, protruding like a scorpion tail from its buttocks, also changed direction towards me.
What are you doing! Wonderstein! Dont! Step back!
I looked up at the Fleshmass creature, apologizing, Im sorry. I couldnt save you all.
Wonderstein!
A whip-like blade about fifteen meters long flew towards me.
I extended both arms and directly caught it.
Crash!
My mind went blank from the impact.
The only reason I could maintain composure in this situation was thanks to the laughing man.
The muscle strength and tissue resilience of 5.0 barely withstood this force.
I looked around.
The residents were standing right beside me.
I had flown about ten meters backward, holding back the blade the creature had launched.
It was fortunate that I didnt lose consciousness.
A-Are you alive?
Valentinas once courageous eyes now had tears welling up.
I gave her a reassuring smile.
Then, I placed my hand on the blade that pierced through my waist.
Biomancers had one more privilege in this world.
After coming to this world, I had used this ability only once.
When Ella was drowning.
At that time, I had dismantled one of the original attributes to replenish the lacking Debulroots.
The special attribute I bestowed upon myself could be dismantled to restore half of the Debulroots used.
To remove attributes given to others, I needed to consume half of the Debulroots used to create the attribute.
I firmly held onto the tentacles to avoid missing them.
And then, I activated the ability.
Decompose.
Crunch.
Squelch. Squelch.
The sensation of flesh and bones twisting transmitted through my arms.
The creatures muscles spewed blood as they burst.
Keeeeeek!
The monster screamed in agony.
I watched the scene with a faint smile.
Wonderstein could dismantle the attribute and restore it to nothing.
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